After a long, tiring day at work, it's always nice to go home to a hot bath and doze off in the coziness of your own comfortable room. Tens of thousands of years ago, Neanderthals did just that, too.
An excavation within an excavation by archaeologists in Spain revealed that ancient humans lived in caves that had provisions for a bath tub and a room for sleeping.
While digging up an ancient cave in Catalonia, researchers from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution stumbled upon a 60,000-year-old hole which they found to have been used by Neanderthals for heating water and an ancient "room."
Measuring about 16x12x4 inches, the hole was found to be positioned close to a wall in the cave, with hearths all around it. According to the researchers, the archaeological assemblage from unit Qa - where the hole was found - is very thin and has a surface area of 180 square meters and has an abundance of archaeological materials that show a very intense occupation by ancient humans. The hole, along with the ancient room, was the most interesting and surprising discovery.
To heat water, the Neanderthals would burn rocks and then dump them into the miniature bath tub. The researchers also noted that the hole, which is located near the wall of the cave, is enclosed of limestones, speleothemes and hearths. Heating water through the hole, the researchers found, was most likely a means for the Neanderthal to take an occasional hot bath.
Adding to the miniature tub enclosed of hearths, a sleeping area was also found in an area inside the cave. No beds of some sort were found, but there were no debris and fewer artifacts, and the researchers found that the area was mainly used for sleeping.
And, as if the hole and sleeping area are not a surprising enough discovery, the archaeologists also found clues of areas dedicated for making tools, butchering meat and trash.
According to the researchers, their study revealed that Neanderthals "realized their subsistence activities around the hearths near the wall of the shelter, how have been already observed in other archaeological levels." Their homes might not be as modern as ours, but they served the exact same purpose that we look for, as sophisticated humans.
