Washington Post today ran this article (free reg, blah blah) detailing some new developments in early-modern human research. Turns out that the human remains at Vogelherd, a German cave site that provided one of the strongest links between early-modern humans and the Aurignacian culture, were only a few thousand years old. Hence, no strong link. This finding opens up the possibility that it was neandertals who created this artwork, perhaps even the entire Aurignacian complex itself.

If it can be proven, it would be a ground-shaking discovery. Until this time, one of the primary differences between early modern humans and neandertals seemed to be cultural.