A cave engraving found in Gibraltar may be the first sign of Neanderthal art.

A cave engraving found in Gibraltar may be the first sign of Neanderthal art.

(Photo by Stewart Finlyason / Courtesy of the Gibraltar Museum)

— Neanderthal Art Uncovered: A team of scientists has determined that abstract markings found in a cave in Gibraltar are early examples of art made by Neanderthals. A study recently published on the crosshatched markings claims that they prove that Neanderthals were more intelligent than previously believed. "We will never know the meaning the design held for the maker or the Neanderthals who inhabited the cave but the fact that they were marking their territory in this way before modern humans arrived in the region has huge implications for debates about what it is to be human and the origin of art," said Griffith University rock art expert Paul Taçon. [WSJ]