A new study of Valdegoba Cave in northern Spain shows how Neanderthals selected and shaped animal bones for work on stone tools. The findings add to evidence of planned tool use during the Middle Paleolithic.
Neanderthal Flintworkers, by Charles Robert Knight، 1920. Credit: Wikimedia / Public domain
Researchers from the University of Burgos and the Atapuerca Foundation examined 38 bone fragments from Valdegoba, near Huérmeces in Burgos province. The cave was occupied by Neanderthals and has also produced remains from six individuals.
The bone pieces served as retouchers, tools used to shape and sharpen the edges of stone implements. A retoucher usually consists of part of a large mammal bone, such as a long bone, rib, or phalanx. Marks left by repeated blows include pits, small chips, and grooves on the bone surface.
Researchers studied more than 12,000 animal bone fragments longer than 2 centimeters from excavations carried out between 1987 and 1991, plus work done in 2006. They used both surface and microscopic analysis to identify signs linked to tool use.
Geographical location of Valdegoba site. Credit: Rodríguez-Gómez et al., Lethaia (2022)
The results show a clear choice in the bones used as retouchers. Neanderthals favored pieces with a useful size and shape, especially long fragments that offered a firm grip. Some bones also show changes linked to handling and repeated use.
One of the smallest retouchers measured about 42 millimeters long. Its small size suggests the bone might have fractured during the retouching process, rather than being chosen as a finished piece from the start.
The study also points to repeated use of bones at the cave. Some fragments appear to have been used after they had already broken. This pattern suggests Neanderthals kept and reused suitable bone pieces instead of taking a new animal bone each time.
Valdegoba provides a useful setting for studying these choices. The cave lies about 35 meters above the Urbel River and holds deposits linked to the Middle Paleolithic. Dating work places key archaeological layers between roughly 130,000 and 70,000 years ago.
More than 2,500 stone artifacts have been recovered from the site. Most were made from flint and quartzite. Scrapers, denticulates, notches, and points form part of the stone tool group, while many small flakes show that tool production took place inside the cave.
Bone retouchers have been known from Paleolithic sites for more than a century. Early finds were often overlooked, but research since the 1970s has shown their role in stone tool production. Similar tools have been reported across Europe and at several much older sites.
The Valdegoba evidence adds a local case to this wider record. The selection of bone by size and shape, along with signs of repeated use, points to planned handling of animal remains.
The findings also add to a long-running debate over Neanderthal technology. Older views often treated their tools as simple compared with those made by later modern human groups. Archaeological finds from many sites now show a wider range of skills in Neanderthal technology.
At Valdegoba, bone wasn’t treated as waste after an animal was butchered. Suitable fragments became useful tools for shaping stone. Some were kept after breaking and used again, showing careful use of a limited resource.
The study therefore places bone retouchers within the regular toolkit of Neanderthals in northern Iberia. Their use reflects practical choices about material, shape, grip, and reuse during daily tool making.
Publication: Alonso-García, P., de la Fuente Juez, H., & Díez Fernández-Lomana, J. C. (2026). Only rocks? Use of bone tools in Valdegoba (Huérmeces, Burgos). Journal of Archaeological Science, Reports, 74(105969), 105969. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2026.105969