18 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Neanderthals too may have Developed a System of Numerical Notation

People developed numbers tens of thousands of years ago, according to archeological findings. Scholars are now investigating the first comprehensive hypotheses behind this life-changing invention.

A Neanderthal began working with a bit of hyena femur and a stone tool some 60,000 years ago in what is now western France. The bone bore nine notches that were stunningly identical and almost parallel after the work was completed as if they were supposed to symbolize something.

An archaeologist from the University of Bordeaux in France, Francesco d’Errico, offers a theory concerning the markings. During his career, he has examined numerous antique carved objects, and he believes the hyena bone, discovered in the 1970s near Angoulême at Les Pradelles, stands out as exceptional. Although ancient carved artifacts are often interpreted as artworks, the Les Pradelles bone seems to have been more functional, says D’Errico.

Marks made on a hyena bone by a Neanderthal indicate that he may have recorded his numerical information. Photo: F. d'Errico
Marks made on a hyena bone by a Neanderthal indicate that he may have recorded his numerical information. Photo: F. d’Errico

He claims that it might be used to encrypt numerical data. And, if that’s the case, anatomically modern people may not have been the only ones to devise a system of numerical notation: Neanderthals might have begun to do so, too.

When D’Errico published his views in 2018, he was delving into the uncharted ground for scientists: the ancient foundations of numbers. The origin of numbers is now garnering increased attention as scholars from all areas approach the topic from various perspectives.

Researchers think that people cut notches into this baboon bone some 40,000 years ago as an early form of counting.Photo: F. d'Errico & L. Backwell
Researchers think that people cut notches into this baboon bone some 40,000 years ago as an early form of counting.Photo: F. d’Errico & L. Backwell

Cognitive scientists, anthropologists, and psychologists are studying modern civilizations to better understand the variations between current number systems, which are defined as the symbols that a civilization employs to count and manipulate numbers. Their goal is that hints hidden in current systems may provide information about their origins.

Meanwhile, archaeologists have been hunting for evidence of early numerical notations, and evolutionary scientists with an interest in language are investigating the deep roots of number words. These investigations prompted scholars to formulate some of the earliest precise explanations regarding the prehistoric evolution of number systems.

Furthermore, an increase in funding will encourage greater research in this field. This year, an international research team will begin testing several ideas with a €10 million (US$11.9 million) funding from the European Research Council as part of a larger effort to explore when, why, and how number systems arose and spread over the world. The project, called the Evolution of Cognitive Tools for Quantification (QUANTA), might even provide insights into whether number systems are unique to anatomically modern humans, or were conceivably present in nascent form in Neanderthals.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01429-6

Source: Nature

Related Articles

From Ancient Scripts to Digital Insights: TLHdig 0.2 Breathes New Life into Hittite Cuneiform Tablets

27 March 2025

27 March 2025

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Boğazköy-Hattuša, once the capital of the Hittite Empire during the late Bronze Age (circa...

A Large Roman Pottery Production Center was Found in Poland

2 April 2021

2 April 2021

A large Roman pottery production center was found in Poland. The production center was discovered near the village of Wrzepia,...

Mystery ax discovered off the coast of Arendal of Norway

26 July 2021

26 July 2021

Researchers have discovered a find that could be a first for Norwegian archeology. A hollow ax, which researchers believe dates...

3000-year-old clay figurine discovered in Germany may be a prehistoric water goddess

14 July 2022

14 July 2022

Archaeologists have discovered a rare clay figurine thought to represent a prehistoric water goddess in the Schweinfurt region of Germany....

Archaeologists Reveal a Hair Style They Think Was Fashion 2000 Years Ago

19 February 2021

19 February 2021

The small 5 cm figurine found during excavations at Wimpole in Cambridgeshire surprised with its details. National Trust archaeologists and...

World’s Oldest Pants was Made through Three Weaving Techniques

26 February 2022

26 February 2022

Back in 2014, a group of archaeologists discovered in China a pair of wool pants dating back to around 3,300...

Australia’s 1,400-year-old Mysterious Earth Rings: Evidence of Millennia of Human Effort, Not Natural Formation

21 January 2025

21 January 2025

A chain of mysterious earth rings in the Sunbury hills at the fringe of Melbourne, in Australia have been found...

Feline and anthropomorphic 29 new geoglyphs discovered in Peru

21 December 2023

21 December 2023

In Ica, a region south of Lima on the coast of Peru, 29 geoglyphs were found by an archaeologist from...

1000-Year-Old Tomb Found in Perre Ancient City in southeast Turkey

1 July 2021

1 July 2021

A 1,000-year-old tomb was unearthed in the ancient city of Perre in Adiyaman province. Perre is one of the five...

Ruins of China’s earliest state academy found in east China

21 February 2022

21 February 2022

The ruins of ancient China‘s first government-run institution of higher learning, built in 374 BC, have been discovered in the...

The earliest known depiction of biblical heroines Jael and Deborah was discovered at a Jewish synagogue in Israel

8 August 2022

8 August 2022

The earliest known depiction of biblical heroines Jael and Deborah was discovered at a Jewish synagogue at Huqoq in Israel,...

Face of Medusa, Power of the Gorgon: Ancient Amulets Discovered in Karachay-Cherkessia

16 August 2025

16 August 2025

On Russia’s Archaeologist Day, the State Karachay-Cherkess Historical, Cultural, and Natural Museum-Reserve unveiled, for the very first time, a remarkable...

Rare medieval bone flute unearthed in Kent, southeastern coast of England

22 November 2022

22 November 2022

Archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology have unearthed a rare medieval bone flute during excavations in Herne Bay, located in Kent, southeastern...

Palau’s green pyramids: could be a geo-archaeological project

19 February 2022

19 February 2022

Archaeologists from Kiel University’s Institute for Ecosystem Research (CAU) and the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) studied the so-called “Pyramids of...

5,200-year-old stone carving silkworm chrysalis discovered in north China

19 July 2022

19 July 2022

According to the provincial archaeological research institute, archaeologists discovered a stone-carved silkworm chrysalis dating back at least 5,200 years in...