Scientists just found two mysterious stone rings deep inside a cave that is most likely built by Neanderthals some 176,500 years ago, suggesting that these ancient human ancestors were more complex than first thought.

This cave is located in Bruniquel, in the southwestern region of France, where researchers found hundreds of structures inside the cave made from mineral deposits known as stalagmites that are shaved off in similar lengths that are interestingly laid out in an oval pattern at about 16 inches tall.

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This cave full of mysterious stalagmites was first discovered in 1990, that were found to be in pristine conditions for more than 10,000 years due to a rocky landslide that closed the mouth of the cave.

Past studies already suggest how these structures already existed even before the arrival of modern humans in Europe some 45,000 years ago. Before, it was thought that Neanderthals were not capable of complex behaviour and now, they could even show telltale signs of culture and creativity from past evidence.

In this new study, scientists utilized advanced dating methods and revealed that these stalagmites where broked off from the ground some 176,500 years back, which could possibly be the oldest known human made constructions, according to lead author of the study, archaeologist Jacques Jaubert from the University of Bordeaux, France.

Researchers say that stalagmite presence from 368 yards within the entrance of the cave, suggests how these ancient humans already mapped out their underground environment, which is considered as a huge milestone in human evolution. 

Jaubert and team also ruled out that these meticulously constructed rings that reveal evidence of fire, could have been inadvertently made by animals like bears and wolves, where their skeletal remains were also found near the cave entrance. He says that these structure are undeniably made by humans.

His theory involves that these humans must have embarked on an excursion to explore deeper into this cave where there is no natural light inside, most likely as a group, who then built these rings together and used fire to illuminate the cave. The reason behind this is still unknown and it could be of extraordinary origins, such as symbolic or ritualistic meeting purposes.

This new study is published in the journal Nature.

Tagsstone rings cave neanderthals, neanderthals, Human evolution, neanderthals cave france, France, bruniquel