They bear traces of red ochre, a pigment.

A deer painted in Altamira cave's "Polychrome Hall," a passage full of red ochre Paleolithic paintings. To the lower left are sensors to measure temperature and humidity in the cave.

Although babies buried by Neandertals and modern humans have been found that date farther back, the new bodies are unusual in that they are adorned with ivory beads, red ochre, and mammoth bone.