Question

Passage A
Recent radiometric dating of calcite crusts overlying red pigments in several European caves has confirmed that these geometric markings are of Neanderthal origin, dating back more than 60,000 years. While this unequivocally demonstrates that Neanderthals engaged in deliberate mark-making long before the arrival of modern humans in Europe, we must remain rigorously cautious in interpreting the cognitive significance of these creations. The tendency among some researchers to project modern human symbolic behavior onto our extinct relatives often clouds objective archaeological analysis. The markings themselves—primarily consisting of simple lines, clustered dots, and rudimentary crosshatches—are best understood as exploratory aesthetic behaviors. They certainly indicate an appreciation for spatial form and visual contrast, but they entirely lack the structural complexity, syntactical arrangement, and representational intent characteristic of true symbolic communication. To classify these isolated markings as a rudimentary language or concrete evidence of religious ritual is to significantly overreach the available archaeological evidence. They are decorative in nature, an expression of emerging cognitive capacity and manual dexterity, but they do not constitute a codified system of meaning.

Passage B
The groundbreaking discovery that Neanderthals were responsible for creating geometric cave markings fundamentally challenges the long-held anthropological paradigm that abstract, symbolic thought is an evolutionary advancement exclusive to Homo sapiens. Skeptics of Neanderthal cognitive complexity frequently argue that these markings are merely random scratchings or purely decorative endeavors, leaning heavily on the fact that the art lacks clear representational figures such as animals or human forms. However, this conservative view fundamentally misunderstands the very nature of abstract symbolism. The deliberate and arduous selection of deep, entirely unlit, and inaccessible cave locations for these markings, combined with the recurring use of specific, standardized geometric motifs across widely separated geographic regions in Europe, strongly implies a shared and preserved cultural meaning. These are not the idle doodles of cave-dwellers; they represent a systematic method of information storage and transmission across generations. Even if the specific referential meanings of these geometric shapes remain permanently opaque to modern researchers, the undeniable intentionality and standardization of these markings demonstrate that Neanderthals possessed a sophisticated cognitive framework capable of abstract, symbolic communication.

Based on the passages, which one of the following statements most accurately describes the central point of contention between the two authors?