Evidence that Neanderthal and Homo sapiens engaged in cultural exchange

This article really fails to explain anything. Headline just makes a statement then the text waffles on without actually making any arguments to support that statement.<p>So basically from the paper I think they are saying there is morphological variability in the area, but they can see technological consistency (centripetal lavallois, burnt ochre). But I still don&#x27;t understand why this particular assemblage is evidence for that.<p>Not that I don&#x27;t believe them, I&#x27;m just grumbling that they haven&#x27;t explained it properly (at least, not well enough for my Sunday morning brain).

Paper: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nature.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;s41562-025-02110-y" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nature.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;s41562-025-02110-y</a>

<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nature.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;s41562-025-02110-y&#x2F;figures&#x2F;3" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nature.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;s41562-025-02110-y&#x2F;figures&#x2F;3</a><p>The link has images of some of the tools they found. Do you think we could teach a Neanderthal to code?

It&#x27;s incredible to think that instead of isolated evolutionary tracks, early human groups were exchanging ideas, tools, and even burial customs

so we are all part, Ugg, or is it part Ugg-et, or is it both?, ie: y and x chromasones have nieanderthal bits?, if its both, then that is a strong indication that things were pretty casual, ,hanging out partying, looks like Ugg and Sue are hitting it off, some tasty mastadon on the fire, heard you and the other nieandethals got a saber tooth cat last week

I mean, we already <i>knew</i> that we exchanged genes so is it not therefore <i>self-evident</i> that we also exchanged memes?

Does this have implications for understanding the abilities of Neanderthals? For instance, might more advanced tools found in Neanderthal sites have been created by non-Neanderthals, and exchanged in trade or captured&#x2F; stolen?