Overview
- The study published in PNAS on Monday, July 6, 2026, reports millimeter-by-millimeter excavation and dating that place Neanderthal use of Üçağızlı II at about 77,000–59,000 years ago and Homo sapiens use at about 59,000–47,000 years ago.
- Archaeologists recovered unusually large assemblages—about 19,252 stone tools and 24,236 animal remains—that let them track technology, raw-material sourcing and prey across layers.
- Across the Neanderthal and later human layers the foundational stone toolkit, hunting targets and sourcing of flint were remarkably consistent, suggesting transmission of practical knowledge.
- Researchers found repeated collection of the small marine snail Columbella rustica in both sets of layers, often modified or perforated in ways consistent with ornament or symbolic use rather than food.
- Authors propose regional contact, cultural exchange or overlapping territory as plausible explanations but stress they cannot yet prove direct temporal overlap and call for further excavation and comparative analyses to test those models.