In the new study, published today in Scientific Reports, Hardy and his co-authors describe a 6.2-millimeter-long fragment of string that their team found at the same rock shelter —in a layer dated to between 52,000 and 41,000 years ago, when Neandertals occupied the site. Analyses of the fragment show that it is made of fibers that were probably harvested from the inner bark of a conifer tree. The fibers were twisted clockwise to form yarn, and then three lengths of the yarn were twisted in the opposite direction to make string.
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Send over Faz Rana. He can tie himself in knots using Neanderthal rope.