Read the following passage.
The recent discovery of intentionally modified eagle talons at multiple Neanderthal sites spanning tens of thousands of years has reignited debates over Middle Paleolithic hominin cognition. For decades, the dominant paradigm among processual archaeologists maintained that Neanderthal behavioral repertoires were overwhelmingly utilitarian. Under this framework, any physical modifications to animal remains were strictly interpreted through the lens of subsistence or basic tool production. Processualists have historically argued that putative instances of Neanderthal "art" or ornamentation either result from taphonomic processes—natural weathering or animal scavenging—or represent mere rote imitation of anatomically modern humans, devoid of underlying symbolic comprehension.
However, the eagle talon assemblages challenge this conservative consensus. Cognitive archaeologists emphasize that the specific cut marks on the terminal phalanges (talons) indicate a targeted removal process that yields little to no nutritional value. Furthermore, the selection of apex predators—animals notoriously difficult to capture and rarely consumed—suggests a non-dietary motivation. Cognitive archaeologists posit that these talons were strung as personal ornaments, functioning as visual markers of social identity or status.
While the cognitive approach provides a compelling counter-narrative, it risks projecting contemporary human cognitive frameworks onto an extinct lineage. It is entirely plausible that Neanderthals engaged in complex, non-utilitarian behaviors—such as wearing animal parts—without those objects possessing the abstract, arbitrary symbolic meanings characteristic of modern human language and art. Thus, the talons may have been socially significant without being "symbolic" in the modern sense.
Based on the passage, the processual archaeologists mentioned in the first paragraph would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements regarding the modified eagle talons?
- The physical alterations found on the talons are insufficient to prove that Neanderthals possessed the capacity for abstract symbolic thought.Answer
- BThe talons were likely used in a manner that held social significance for Neanderthals, even if they lacked arbitrary symbolic meaning.
- CAny cut marks found on the talons must be the exclusive result of natural weathering or animal scavenging rather than hominin activity.
- DThe talons were harvested from apex predators specifically because such animals provided the most durable materials for basic tool production.
- EThe targeted removal process of the talons represents a rote imitation that successfully captured the visual markers of modern human identity.