A Single String Just Helped Confirm Genesis | The Institute for Creation Research

A Single String Just Helped Confirm Genesis
A piece of string about 6 millimeters long is threatening standard evolutionary theory about the history of humanity.

The BBC reported that researchers from the United States, France, and Spain recently discovered a small piece of string at a Neanderthal site in France.1 The researchers say that the string is approximately 50,000 years old.

According to evolutionary theory, Neanderthals were a relatively recent ancestor of modern humans, but did not have nearly the cognitive abilities that we have today. However, this discovery casts doubt on that hypothesis.

The 3-ply string was evidently made from the inner bark of a tree, the researchers said. The portion found was 6.2mm long and 0.5mm wide, and was made from three fibers, each twisted carefully in an “S-twist,” and then twined together into a cord.

The ability to make this cord “implies that Neanderthals understood concepts like pairs, sets, and numbers.” The article further explains that if Neanderthals were capable of making materials made of twisted fibers, then that means they likely could make things such as “clothes, bags, nets and even boats.”

In addition, the use of the internal bark of trees “demonstrated that Neanderthals had a detailed ecological understanding of trees and how to transform them into entirely different functional substances.” On an even deeper level, it shows that Neanderthals understood math and possessed the ability to to track with “multiple, sequential operations simultaneously.”

In other words, they could perform tasks just like modern humans.

While this is astonishing to those who hold to the evolutionary mindset, it simply confirms what biblical creationists already know: humans have always been humans. Humans have always been able to think, reason, create, work, and communicate, just as they were made to do.

Genesis tells us that we did not evolve from a previous, less-developed ancestor. Instead, we were specially, intentionally created by God in His image, made like Him in many ways.2 Thus it should not, and does not, surprise us when evolutionary science begins to recognize that early humanity possessed creativity and intelligence, among other traits.

This tiny string found in a French cave is yet another reminder to thank our God for making all mankind—since the beginning of time—capable of intelligently interacting with His universe and, more importantly, able to have a relationship with Him. We serve an amazing Creator.

Stage image: A scanning electron micrograph showing the twisted cord fibers. The fragment was approximately 6.2mm long and 0.5mm wide.
Stage image credit: PA Media/BBC News. Copyright © 2020. Adapted for use in accordance with federal copyright (fair use doctrine) law. Usage by ICR does not imply endorsement of copyright holders.


References
1. BBC contributor. 50,000-year-old string found at France Neanderthal site. BBC. Posted on bbc.com April 13, 2020, accessed April 13, 2020.
2. Genesis 1:26-27.

*Lauren Pennington is Volunteer Coordinator at the ICR Discovery Center for Science & Earth History.
The Latest
NEWS
Dino Footprints Down Under
Dinosaur trackways1 are once again making the news. Australia is the setting of a remarkable series of dinosaur tracks attributed to ornithischian...

NEWS
April 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things...

NEWS
Human Evolution and the Inner Ear
The vain attempt by evolutionists to make an evolutionary connection between people and ape-like ancestors continues. This time, it is in regard to...

CREATION PODCAST
Defending the Faith with a Rocket Scientist | Creation.Live Podcast:...
How do engineering principles, biological complexity, and a solid understanding of apologetics work together to further the cause of Christ? Why...

NEWS
Aerobic and Anaerobic Hot Spring Bacteria
God designed a domain of prokaryotes called Archaea that thrive in harsh and extreme environments. In 1969, two microbiologists, Thomas Brock and Hudson...

CREATION PODCAST
The Soulless Hominid Theory: A Fatal Flaw in Old Earth Creationism...
Welcome to the second episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit...

NEWS
Humpback Whale Calls Echo Creation
There is nothing simple about the system of communication called language, whether animal or human.1 Human language is a very sophisticated...

NEWS
Mary Parker, Creation Ministry Partner of Dr. Gary Parker, Is...
Mary Parker, the wife and co-laborer of Dr. Gary Parker, went home to be with her Lord on March 20, 2025. Dr. Parker was a popular and effective...

NEWS
Plants Rely on Quantum Mechanics
Scientists will probably never fully understand photosynthesis as additional research uncovers even more fascinating mysteries.1,2 ICR’s...

NEWS
Martian Polar Ice Cap ''Surprisingly Young''?
A team of German planetary scientists has concluded that a three-kilometer-thick northern polar ice cap on Mars has a “surprisingly young”...