Stalagmite cave rings that have been found not only suggest that Neanderthals are skilled builders but that they existed way before the arrival of Homo sapiens by as much as 100,000 years.

Scientists initially explored Bruniquel Cave in southwest France to look for cave bears and rare megafauna. Instead, they stumbled upon the mysterious stony structures located more than a thousand feet away from the entrance - structures that, without a doubt, were purposely crafted.

Understanding Neanderthal Behavior

About 400 stalagmites were found to be carved into almost the same lengths. Some of the rocks were created to form rings with a diameter of 22 feet (6.7 meters), while the rest were elaborately piled up.

There were notable black and red discolorations that suggest the stalagmites touched fire. There were also burnt bones of a large herbivore adjacent to the cave rings.

Early Neanderthals lived for 300,000 years, and there was even a time that they coexisted and bred with modern humans. They had big brains and knowledge of fire but they were not believed to be adept at symbolism and ritualistic behavior.

Many contest that the reason they did not survive is their inability to learn subterranean living. However, the evidence found inside the Bruniquel cave proves that these distant cousins were, in fact, skilled and able to conceive complex patterns.

"The find is solid, and it is an important documentation of the advanced behaviors of the Neanderthals," said Erik Trinkaus, a paleoanthropologist from Washington University.

Study author Jacques Jaubert from the University of Bordeaux and his team said that for the Neanderthals to create such complex patterns, they must have had planning and construction capabilities to be able to make the structures and go deep into the caves where illumination would be necessary.

"This requires the mobilization of people who choose, who lead, who advise, manufacture - and with continuous light," said Jaubert. "All this indicates a structured society."

Structured Society Or Cave Bears?

Were the Neanderthals really capable of such complex behavior? Could the elaborate structures be a handiwork of hibernating cave bears that the scientists were initially looking for?

John Shea, a paleoanthropologist from Stony Brook University, raised a question as to why Neanderthals would build a structure underneath a cave. Shea pointed out that these early inhabitants retreat to a cave because they do not want to engage in building an artificial structure.

Shea claims that these structures were more likely created by hibernating cave bears.

"When bears settle in for the winter hibernation, they push all kinds of litter to the side. This looks like a place where cave bears settled in for a nice nap over and through time," Shea said.

But the proponents of the study said that Shea's argument is weak. Leiden University anthropologist Marie Soressi said that bear dens, in general, could not be bigger than the rings found inside the cave and that these animals cannot pile heaps of stalagmites by just pushing the rocks to the side. Jaubert added that the evidence of fire ultimately junks the idea of cave bears.

The Purpose Of The Structures?

Why were the Neanderthals so deep into the cave? What were the structures for?

Jaubert and his team would need to conduct further studies to answer these questions. But for now, what they know is that the Bruniquel structures are dated within a glacial stage where the caves could have served as an intermediate temperate refuge.