Never mind Band-Aids, Neanderthals had antiseptic birch tar

The use of birch tar by Neanderthals highlights their ingenuity and adaptability in their environment. This challenges the long-held perceptions of Neanderthals as mere brutish ancestors, suggesting instead that they possessed a nuanced understanding of their surroundings and the materials available to them. Such findings may prompt a reevaluation of how we view early human relatives and their contributions to our evolutionary narrative.