These include complex tools (which require several stages of manufacture), symbolism (for example, red hematite pigments for notation and beads for display, made from sea shells and ostrich eggshells), and long-distance networks of contact and exchange. These discoveries support some archaeologists’ view that only Homo sapiens was advanced enough to be considered truly modern humans, while non-modern groups like the Neanderthals displayed, at best, only incipient signs of such complexity.
越来越多的有关智人的关键要素的考古学证据正在距今60 000多年的非洲浮出水面。这些证据包括复杂的工具（其制作过程需要好几个阶段）、符号（比如用于标注记号的红色赤铁矿颜料和用于展示的用贝壳和鸵鸟蛋壳制成的珠子）以及长距离联络和交换网络。这些发现支持只有智人才有资格被认为是真正现代人的考古学观点，而尼安德特人等非现代人群体的复杂程度充其量只能称为雏形。