A fragment of an ursid radius with seventeen incisions (one of them incomplete) was excavated in the 1950s in the Dziadowa Skała Cave in the Częstochowa Upland in southern Poland from a deposit with faunal remains from the Eemian (ca 130–115 kyr). This object has been cited as the earliest evidence of Neanderthal cognitive abilities in the region, but it has been never studied in detail. The artefact has now been re-examined using microscopy and X-ray computed tomography. For this study we revised the determination of the bone and studied the morphology and metric parameters of the incisions (length, width, depth and opening angle). We also used experiments, statistical analysis and an analysis of the incisions' topography to establish the techniques behind their manufacture. The obtained results show that the bone was marked using a retouched stone tool, and that the incisions were produced during a single episode by a right-handed individual using repeated unidirectional movements of the tools’ cutting edge. The incisions are evidently an effect of a deliberate action, not a side-effect of some practical activity. The bear radius from Dziadowa Skała is thus yet another piece of evidence for the emergence of symbolic culture, evolved by hominins in Africa and Eurasia, and represents the oldest example of marked bone north of the Carpathian Mountains.

中文翻译：

---

波兰 Dziadowa Skała 洞中旧石器时代中期雕刻的熊骨：喀尔巴阡山脉以北最古老的标记物体

1950 年代，在波兰南部琴斯托霍瓦高地的 Dziadowa Skała 洞穴中，从埃米亚（约 130-115 吉尔）动物遗骸沉积物中挖掘出一块有 17 个切口（其中一个不完整）的熊科半径碎片。该物体被认为是该地区尼安德特人认知能力的最早证据，但从未对其进行过详细研究。目前，该文物已通过显微镜和 X 射线计算机断层扫描进行了重新检查。在本研究中，我们修改了骨骼的测定，并研究了切口的形态和度量参数（长度、宽度、深度和张开角度）。我们还使用实验、统计分析和切口地形分析来确定其制造背后的技术。获得的结果表明，骨头是使用修饰过的石器进行标记的，并且切口是由惯用右手的人使用工具切削刃的重复单向运动在一次事件中产生的。这些切口显然是故意行为的结果，而不是某些实际活动的副作用。因此，来自 Dziadowa Skała 的熊半径是象征文化出现的又一个证据，该文化是由非洲和欧亚大陆的古人类进化而来的，并且代表了喀尔巴阡山脉以北有标记骨头的最古老的例子。