Did Neanderthals Practice Chemistry?

Researchers discovered an adhesive, birch tar, made from birch bark at a Neanderthal site in Germany and conducted both a chemical analysis of the glue and a series of experiments to determine how these people may have made their glue. And the result was shockingly complex (for evolutionist expectations, anyway):

Analyzing samples of the ancient adhesive, researchers found that it was most likely synthesized in underground chambers that restricted oxygen flow, thus shedding light on the cognitive capacities of this prehistoric human species.

The researchers shared,

If, however, the [adhesives] were made with a method including invisible underground processes and intentionally created low-oxygen environments, such a finding would imply that Neanderthals invented or developed a technical process for transforming their material world.

This, in turn, would provide valuable insight into their cognitive and cultural capabilities.

Now, the idea of Neanderthal “chemists” shouldn’t surprise us—these people are descendants of Adam and Eve through Noah, just as we are, made in God’s image and therefore gifted with the cognitive abilities to observe the world around them, manipulate the resources God had given them, and invent new things. People in all cultures all over the world throughout history have done that—and Neanderthals were no different.

The only reason the ability of Neanderthals to synthesize complex glues is surprising is because of the evolutionary worldview which interprets Neanderthals as less-evolved cousins of ours.

The only reason the ability of Neanderthals to synthesize complex glues is surprising is because of the evolutionary worldview which interprets Neanderthals as less-evolved cousins of ours. But they weren’t our evolutionary cousins: every human being descends from Adam and Eve and then from Noah and his family. Neanderthals were humans who had some minor physical variations to us, living after the global flood during the ice age and scratching out a living during a rough time. And they were our relatives, as we are all members of the one human race—one big family.

So were Neanderthal chemists? Yes, that’s a possibility!

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Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.