57,000-year-old Neanderthal wall art uncovered in France

The researchers said their findings, published in the journal Plos One, add to evidence that Neanderthals were “complex and diverse as those of our own ancestors”.

Scientists analysing wall engravings at La Roche-Cotard cave in Loire, France (Kristina Thomsen/TechnicalUniversity of Denmark)

Finger markings discovered inside a cave in France are “organised and intentional” and were likely made by Neanderthals more than 57,000 years ago, scientists have said.

Thought to be the oldest known engravings made by the extinct human relative, the marks were found on La Roche-Cotard cave walls in the Centre-Val de Loire region of northern France.