Neanderthals did much more with wood than burning it. A new study of 597 wooden remains and footprints from Abric Romaní, a rock shelter in Capellades, near Barcelona, shows that weapons, tools and household items were made from it. They may have also built parts of their living space. The findings date from approximately 62,000 to 40,000 years ago and come from 16 archaeological levels. Drawing and recording work during the excavation of the wooden object in Abric Romaní. Credit: Gerard Campeny / IPHES-CERCAFor decades, stone tools shaped our image of Neanderthal technology. Wood rarely survives, so much of its material culture disappeared. Abric Romaní changes that. The study appears in Science Advances and is led by Palmira Saladié from IPHES-CERCA and the Universitat Rovira i Virgili. It is the first complete analysis of the wood recovered during more than four decades of excavations at the site. Other European sites already showed wood worked by Neanderthals. What sets this one apart is the depth of time. Researchers can track wood use over thousands of years and many visits to the same location. Wood turns out to be a constant part of daily life there, not an occasional resource. General view of the archaeological excavation of Abric Romaní, Capellades (Barcelona). Credit: Gerard Campeny / IPHES-CERCAS So, how did the wood last so long? Calcium carbonate accumulated around it. When the wood rotted, it left natural molds in the travertine rock. These molds maintain the original shape with great precision. Some are detailed enough to show the internal tissue structure of the wood. Drawing and recording of the wooden object interpreted as part of a structure similar to a cabin. Credit: Gerard Campeny / IPHES-CERCA Hearths, stone tools and animal bones are also found in the same layers. This allows the team to study how Neanderthals organized their activities, managed fire and managed resources in a single space. Most of the 597 pieces are trunks, branches, twigs, roots and piles of firewood. The team selected 13 pieces that were made or used by Neanderthals. They include household objects, structural parts, tools and weapons. From Level R came two wooden spears. One measures 2.45 meters and is shaped like a thrusting lance, built for short distances. The other survives at 1.99 meters and has a pointed tip with clear signs of having been deliberately shaped. Very few wooden weapons survive from the European Paleolithic. Schöningen and Lehringen in Germany are the best-known sites. Wooden object from the Abric Romaní interpreted as a wooden mace. Credit: Gerard Campeny / IPHES-CERCALevel P produced a strange object. It was carved from a single piece of wood, with a transparent handle and a thick, pointed end, making it look like a mace. The tool marks show that someone shaped it on purpose. No one knows what it was for and no known object matches it. Wood logging goes beyond weapons. The team found what look like containers or trays of bark. They also found crossed posts that could have formed part of a raised platform for preparing food. A straight piece of wood extends 5.10 meters. It could have been a structural element or a way to alter the living area. Piles of firewood show that Neanderthals used different methods to collect, transport and store fuel. Illustration showing different scenes of Neanderthal groups in Abric Romaní using wooden objects. Credit: Hugo Prades / IPHES-CERCA “Neanderthal technology extended far beyond stone,” says Josep Vallverdú of IPHES-CERCA. The site has a long history of research. Systematic excavations began in 1983 under the direction of Eudald Carbonell. Dr. Palmira Saladié, Dr. M. Gema Chacón and Dr. Josep Vallverdú now direct the work. Their decades of careful excavation allowed researchers to read the wood along with hearths, bones and stone tools. Together, these findings restore a part of the Neanderthal world that most sites have lost. Publication: Saladié, P., Chacón, MG, Solé, A., Allué, E., Marín-Hernando, J., Gómez de Soler, B., … Vallverdú, J. (2026). Neanderthal carpentry in Abric Romaní: reflections on the role of wood in a domestic context of the Middle Paleolithic. Scientific Advances, 12 (41). doi:10.1126/sciadv.aeh2287
