A flint spearhead was found dating back 250,000 years. At its base was a large, sticky, black mass. At first glance it was thought to be pine tree sap, something the Neanderthals could easily find and use. Detailed analysis showed that it was actually man-made pitch made from heating birch bark. Neanderthals were producing pitches to help fasten spearheads to their spears. Its currently the oldest known synthetic material. That would make Neanderthals (Homo Neanderthalensis), not humans (Homo Sapiens), the inventors of perhaps the first industrial process some 250 millennia ago.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 16:50:51 +0000
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