Wooden remains from a Spanish rock shelter reveal Neanderthal spears, a shaped club and possible household objects.Mineral molds preserve a rarely surviving part of Neanderthal technology across roughly 22,000 years.Researchers identified 13 worked or used artifacts among 597 specimens; several proposed functions remain uncertain.<\/p>\n
A wooden object with a distinct handle and pointed head lay buried in a Spanish rock shelter for millennia. Scraping marks show that someone carefully shaped it. Its outline resembles a club, but exactly what its Neanderthal maker intended remains unknown.<\/p>\n
The object belongs to a much larger collection from Abric Roman\u00ed, in Capellades near Barcelona. An archaeological analysis of 597 wooden specimens reveals weapons, possible household utensils and potential structural components, alongside abundant firewood.<\/p>\n
The collection documents repeated wood use across thousands of years of occupation. It also exposes a major limitation of prehistoric archaeology: stone survives where much of everyday technology disappears.<\/p>\n
General view of the archaeological excavation at Abric Roman\u00ed, Capellades (Barcelona). (CREDIT: Gerard Campeny \/ IPHES-CERCA) Mineral molds preserve a missing material<\/p>\n
Wood normally rots, leaving archaeologists with an uneven picture of ancient toolkits. Abric Roman\u00ed preserves something unusual: cavities that reproduce the shapes of wooden objects after their original material disappeared.<\/p>\n
Calcium carbonate deposited around plant material during the formation of travertine, a limestone deposit<\/a>. As the wood decomposed, it left negative impressions in the surrounding mineral. Some molds retain anatomical details down to the cellular level.<\/p>\n Other specimens survived as charred wood or partially burned remains associated with imprints. Together, these preservation pathways record objects that would rarely survive at another site.<\/p>\n The archaeological layers also contain hearths, stone tools and animal remains. Those neighboring finds help researchers interpret where wooden objects were used and how activities were arranged within the shelter.<\/p>\n Systematic excavations began in 1983 under Eudald Carbonell. More than four decades of fieldwork made this broad assessment possible, bringing scattered discoveries into a single account of wood use.<\/p>\n Most specimens were fuel, but 13 stood out<\/p>\n The 597 specimens are not 597 tools. Most are trunks, branches, twigs, roots or firewood accumulations<\/a>, some deposited naturally and others brought by people.<\/p>\n Drawing and recording of the wooden object interpreted as part of a hut-like structure. (CREDIT: Gerard Campeny \/ IPHES-CERCA) <\/p>\n Researchers identified 13 artifacts whose shapes, modification traces or archaeological settings indicated manufacture or use by Neanderthals. These came from eight of the studied levels and include pointed implements, two spears and the unusual club.<\/p>\n Fuel remained wood\u2019s dominant role. Charcoal studies identified Scots pine as the principal wood burned in the hearths, accounting for more than 90% of identified charcoal.<\/p>\n Firewood ranged from small twigs to large logs. Its distribution included isolated pieces and reserves near the shelter wall or around combustion areas. Differences in size suggest varying approaches to gathering and transporting fuel.<\/p>\n Most worked artifacts also correspond to Scots pine, although some possible containers involved juniper. The record suggests that Neanderthals<\/a> used wood for different purposes, rather than treating every branch as interchangeable fuel.<\/p>\n The proposed manufacturing sequence begins with selecting suitably sized trunks or branches. Removing side branches, peeling surfaces and scraping points would produce different final forms. Those steps are inferred from surviving features, so they describe a general process rather than a complete record of each object\u2019s manufacture.<\/p>\n Spears and a club reveal deliberate shaping<\/p>\n Two wooden spears came from Level R. One measures 2.45 meters, while the second preserves 1.99 meters across three fragments. Both have features consistent with deliberate preparation, including shafts without projecting branches.<\/p>\n Wooden object from Abric Roman\u00ed interpreted as a wooden club. (CREDIT: Gerard Campeny \/ IPHES-CERCA) <\/p>\n The longer specimen\u2019s dimensions and pointed shape support its interpretation as a thrusting spear. That would imply close-range use, although the researchers caution against overly precise comparisons with incomplete or distorted weapons elsewhere.<\/p>\n Red deer remains accompanied the longer spear. Three adult male skulls<\/a> retained antlers, suggesting hunting during autumn or winter. Their association provides context, but no direct weapon marks establish how those particular animals died.<\/p>\n The club-like object from Level P offers a different kind of evidence. Made from a single piece of wood, it has a 16-centimeter handle and a distinctly expanded working end. Parallel scraping traces indicate controlled shaping.<\/p>\n Its asymmetrical, pointed head seems better suited to striking than repeated digging, according to the analysis. Still, its function cannot be settled from shape alone. Uses involving hides, plant materials or other tasks remain possibilities.<\/p>\n Burning on its surface adds another qualification. The team attributes that damage to likely exposure after discard, rather than evidence that its maker deliberately hardened it with fire.<\/p>\n Trays and poles suggest a furnished living space<\/p>\n Four charred objects have flattened or concave forms resembling trays, plates or shallow scoops. Three came from Level H and one from Level O. Their shapes and proximity to hearths support a possible domestic role.<\/p>\n Trays crafted from bark that have been preserved in a carbonized state, recovered from levels H and O. (CREDIT: Palmira Saladi\u00e9 et al, Science Advances 2026) <\/p>\n Distinguishing shaped bark containers from naturally detached fragments is difficult. Regular dimensions and the use of juniper strengthen the interpretation for at least some specimens, but their exact functions remain uncertain.<\/p>\n They might have carried food or collected embers and ashes. Comparisons with containers used by recent foraging communities<\/a> offer possibilities, rather than proof of equivalent Neanderthal practices.<\/p>\n Wood may also have helped organize the shelter. In Level I, fragments of three poles included two crossed sticks above a thick hearth. Researchers suggest they could have belonged to an elevated structure associated with food processing.<\/p>\n A separate, branch-free pole from Level N stretches 5.10 meters. Found near an arrangement of hearths interpreted as a resting area, it may have supported a windbreak or light shelter. One surviving pole cannot establish the complete structure\u2019s form.<\/p>\n Other pointed objects may have served as digging sticks. Possible tasks include obtaining underground foods or excavating hearth basins and refuse hollows, with the evidence insufficient to distinguish those uses.<\/p>\n A broader toolkit, with limits to interpretation<\/p>\n