Archaeologists in Poland have unearthed compelling evidence of sophisticated Neanderthal behavior at a 70,000-year-old workshop site in the Zwoleńka River Valley. The remarkable discovery demonstrates that these ancient humans operated specialized tool maintenance centers where they repaired and sharpened implements used for butchering massive Ice Age animals including mammoths, rhinoceroses, and horses.
The excavation, conducted jointly by the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw, the University of Warsaw’s Faculty of Archaeology, and the University of Wrocław’s Institute of Archaeology, represents the most significant Neanderthal research currently underway in Poland. Dr. Witold Grużdź, project manager from the State Archaeological Museum, confirmed that radiocarbon dating places the site’s activity between 64,000 and 75,000 years ago, firmly within the Middle Paleolithic period, reports Science in Poland.
Unprecedented Preservation in Open-Air Environment
What makes this Mazovian site extraordinary is its open-air nature, where organic materials have survived for millennia. Most Neanderthal sites in Poland are concentrated in southern cave systems within the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland and Lower Silesia regions. The Zwoleńka discovery marks the northernmost confirmed Neanderthal presence in the country, in an area that was largely ice-covered during their occupation.
Dr. Katarzyna Pyżewicz from the University of Warsaw emphasized the rarity of such finds:
“Neanderthal discoveries are uncommon, and whatever emerges from this region carries immense scientific value. These archaeological sites typically lie buried several meters beneath the surface, making detection extremely challenging.”
Hellbound and Down 