Neanderthal teeth found in Poland

Via Mundo Neandertal and A Very Remote Period Indeed.

Three teeth identified as belonging to H. neanderthalensis have been found at Stajnia cave, in Low Silesia (Poland). They are the first direct evidence of Neanderthal presence in that region, although Mousterian lithic tools were already known.

A curiosity is that some marks in the teeth are suggestive that the owner(s) of the teeth might have used some thin, stiff and hard objects as toothpicks. Julien mentions that this kind of behavior has been reported amon other Neanderthals in Iberia and also among archaic hominins from Omo (Ethiopia) dated to c. 1.8 million years ago, and also argues that it might indirectly support the ability of speaking among such hominins.

Ref.: M. Urbanowski et al., The first Neanderthal tooth found North of the Carpathian Mountains. Naturwissenshaften 2009. (Paywall).