Remarkable New Research on Ochre ‘Crayons’ Colors in Scientists’ Understanding of How Neanderthals Made Art

A recently published study suggests humans’ creative inclinations go back much further than previously thought

Sara Hashemi | Daily Correspondent

November 4, 2025

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Three ancient pieces of ochre unearthed in Crimea were used by Neanderthals to draw and paint, a new study suggests.

The findings highlight Neanderthals’ cognitive—and possibly creative—abilities, a far cry from popular depictions of the human cousin as brutish and cognitively underdeveloped.

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Writing in the journal Science Advances October 29, researchers analyzed 16 pieces of ochre—an iron-rich mineral—found across sites in Crimea and mainland Ukraine. They used scanning electron microscopy and portable X-ray scanning to examine the artifacts.

While many of the fragments could have been used for reasons like tanning and coloring clothing, repelling insects or crafting tools, three of them stood out. One, a chunk of yellow ochre about 42,000 years old, had been shaped into a crayon through repeated sharpening.

“It was a tool that had been curated and reshaped several times, which makes it very special,” Francesco d’Errico, an archaeologist at the University of Bordeaux in France and a study co-author, tells Alison George at NewScientist. “It’s not just a crayon by shape. It’s a crayon because it was used as a crayon. It’s something that may have been used on skin or a rock to make a line—the reflection, perhaps, of an artistic activity.”

Another fragment, a flat piece of yellow ochre, had lines etched into its surface. This, the researchers write, suggests curated use and intentional production. A third fragment, about 70,000 years old, appeared to be a piece of a broken crayon made from red ochre.

“It’s really exciting. It adds a new facet to what we know about symbolic use of color,” Emma Pomeroy, an archeologist at the University of Cambridge who wasn’t involved with the research, tells NewScientist.

Not everyone agrees with the study’s conclusions, however. Rebecca Wragg Sykes, an archeologist at the University of Cambridge, tells Sophie Berdugo at Live Science that “the researchers' argument that there is direct evidence for symbolic use here is not necessarily the only interpretation.” She adds that the markings on the side of one of the fragments don’t necessarily imply they had a particular symbolic meaning

Still, she tells the outlet, this doesn’t mean Neanderthals did not use colored powder for symbolic reasons. "The fact I do not think there is strong evidence here for intentional engraved motifs doesn't mean that there was no aesthetic, socially meaningful element in why Neanderthals were making and using colored powder," she says.

If the findings are true, it means Neanderthals engaged in cultural activities around the same time as Homo sapiens. That suggests humans’ artistic and cognitive abilities may be more deep-rooted in our family tree than previously believed.

The research comes on the heels of other recent discoveries about Neanderthals, including revelations that a Neanderthal man may have done an ochre painting on a rock about 43,000 years ago and a possible genetic explanation for their eventual demise.

The objects, the authors write in the study, likely played a role in knowledge transmission, communication, and identity expression.

“The underlying cognitive ability for symbolic behavior is undoubtedly shared by the last common ancestor of Homo sapiens, Denisovans and Neanderthals more than 700,000 years ago,” April Nowell, an archeologist at the University of Victoria in Canada who wasn’t involved in the work, tells NewScientist.

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Sara Hashemi is a science writer and fact-checker currently based in New York City. Her work has appeared in Sierra, The Body, Maisonneuve magazine and more.