News Anthropology

Cache of eagle claws points to Neandertal jewelry-making

Extinct human relative had ability to create symbolic objects, researchers argue

talon jewelry

TALON SHOW  Neandertals strung these eight white-tailed eagle claws into a necklace or bracelet 130,000 years ago, a new study concludes. A white-tailed eagle’s foot bone (far right) was found with the claws.

Luka Mjeda (Zagreb)

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

Neandertals made the oldest known piece of jewelry in Europe, a 130,000-year-old necklace or bracelet featuring eight white-tailed eagle claws, a new study suggests.