A toe bone hints that Neandertals used eagle talons as jewelry

The find supports the idea that the hominids made symbolic ornaments

eagle

A toe bone of an ancient imperial eagle suggests that around 39,000 years ago, Neandertals removed eagle talons and used them as symbolic pendants, researchers say.

Jesus Giraldo Gutierrez/Shutterstock

An ancient eagle’s toe bone featuring stone tool incisions adds to evidence that Neandertals made pendants or other ornaments out of birds’ talons, researchers conclude in the Nov.