According to Thomas Terberger from the Lower Saxony State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and the Seminar for Prehistory and Early History at the University of Göttingen, the find shows that the Neanderthals produced complex signs before the arrival of modern humans in Europe, which suggests considerable cognitive abilities. The processed piece of bone speaks for the creative power of the Neanderthal and that he communicated at least through symbols. It is an indication that the Neanderthals had an aesthetic sensibility. Terberger considers the bone from the cave to be an outstanding testimony from the time of the Neanderthals in Lower Saxony and for one of the most important finds from the time of the Neanderthals in Central Europe. The paleontologist Silvia Bello from London's Natural History Museum sees the find as one of the most complex artistic expressions of Neanderthals.
