# Neanderthal Chemical Engineering, of sorts

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neanderthal-chemical-engineering-of-sorts/984989>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [June 4, 2023, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neanderthal-chemical-engineering-of-sorts/984989 "2023-06-04T17:12:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neanderthal-chemical-engineering-of-sorts/984989/1 "2023-06-04T17:12:51Z")

</div>

A limited form of chemistry on Tar seems to have been practiced.

> **[Study finds Neanderthals manufactured synthetic material with underground...](https://phys.org/news/2023-05-neanderthals-synthetic-material-underground-distillation.html)**
>
> Researchers at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen and colleagues in Germany have taken a closer look at the birch tar used to affix Neanderthal tools and found a much more complex technique for creating the adhesive than previously considered.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\
**Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neanderthal-chemical-engineering-of-sorts/984989/2 "2023-06-04T21:25:21Z")

</div>

Old discovery, I read about it easily greater than a decade ago - and I have used the lay a flat cupped stone under rolled up birch bark to catch drips and a sort of combustion chamber of leaned stones to keep direct coals and fire away from the bark. I had prevously knapped a knife blade and used it to set it into a bent wood handle. Wish I still had it, it was pretty crude, not the best blade ever made. [it got a winding of rawhide thong [I didn’t trust what I was told about how solid the blorp of tar would be]

I actually love the field of experimental archeology, as an historical reenactment wonk we do this crap in splendid isolation just to figure something out for ourselves =)