pine cones and pine nuts in gorham’s cave

Different Neanderthal hearths have been recorded in both Gorham’s and Vanguard Caves, some of them in an excellent state of preservation, such as the one with marine mollusc remains at Vanguard. At Gorham’s several of these fires have been or are currently being studied. Hearths were places of social gathering where people met to share thoughts or activities, and so anthropogenic remains are common around them.

One such well-preserved hearth was recorded in the middle section of Gorham’s Cave, which is dated to around 60,000 years ago. Here we found items which are rather unusual in the archaeological record for these dates. These were the plentiful remains of pine nuts and pine cone bracts. Thanks to the fossil pollen record we know that pines was common trees in the areas surrounding the cave; charcoal evidence confirms that the stone pine (Pinus pinea) was the main species of pine. These finds show us how this pine was a useful resource for Neanderthals. They would have used this tree for firewood but also using the cones either for kindling to start a fire, as they have a high resin content which makes them very flammable, or to harvest their pine nuts for consumption. Stone pine nuts are highly nutritious.