Shanidar cave reveals Neanderthal violence

The Shanidar cave in Iraqi Kurdistan continues to provide significant information about Neanderthals. British archaeologists from the University of Cambridge, who resumed research in 2015, identified three more Neanderthal remains, including Shanidar A, who lived 75,000 years ago.

Injury suggests early use of wooden weapons

This Neanderthal, about 45 years old, suffered a violent blow to the head and a deep wound to the scapula, which is an early indication of the use of a wooden spear as a weapon and the resort to violence in the Paleolithic era. The wound is considered a fatal injury to the scapula.

New findings challenge previous assumptions

While Shanidar is known for its "flower burial," recent in situ research has allowed for a reassessment of this site. It is also distinguished by a stacking of burials within a "cluster" located behind a large vertical rock.

Shanidar A was the first buried in the cluster

Shanidar A was discovered there in 2020 and is likely the first to have been placed there, as it was the deepest buried in the sediments. The remains include a nearly complete right hand, two ribs, a rib fragment, the left scapula, and seven teeth.

Analysis reveals details of the scapula wound

The scapula has a perforation of 15 millimeters in diameter, into which fit tiny bone fragments revealed by a 3D reconstruction of the sediment block. The beveling around the cavity is characteristic of an exit wound.

Weapon likely caused the injury

The analysis with a microscope and microCT scanner indicates that the bone was not in the process of reforming, suggesting the perforation occurred around or after death. The most plausible cause is a projectile or a pushing tool such as a spear that penetrated the body from above along a descending trajectory.

Wooden spears existed earlier than previously thought

The weapon is not found nearby, but the best-preserved wooden spears from Schöningen, Germany, date back 300,000 or 200,000 years. The oldest known wooden spear tip from Clacton-on-Sea in the United Kingdom indicates that hominins knew how to shape wood into a formidable weapon.

Cause of death remains uncertain

Emma Pomeroy, first author of the study, suggests that Shanidar A may have succumbed as a result of a hunting accident, though she leans more toward a deliberate act. Shanidar A also bears traces of another form of violence, as he received a powerful blow to the head, resulting in a split lower jaw incisor and adjacent teeth pivoting inward.

Evidence of care after injury

The fractured incisor was covered in calculus, indicating he survived for some time after the injury, but at the cost of great suffering. Someone must have taken care of him because his injured mouth did not allow him to feed himself.

Violence and care coexisted among Neanderthals

The most plausible explanation is a blunt trauma resulting from a blow to the face or mouth or interpersonal violence. Shanidar A joins a small group of bodies testifying to acts of violence between hominins in the Paleolithic.

Other Neanderthal remains show similar injuries

In the same cave, a younger Neanderthal, Shanidar 3, dated to 50,000 years ago, also bears the trace of a wound to the chest. Other examples include older hominins from the Spanish site of Sima de los Huesos and Neanderthals from the site of Saint-Césaire in Charente-Maritime, as well as modern humans from Qafzeh in Israel.

Funerary practices suggest empathy

The evidence of a funerary behavior at Shanidar suggests a duality, as these Neanderthals show both violence and empathy. This is demonstrated by the "flower burial," where the deceased was covered with twigs, and an individual who suffered from various handicapping pathologies.

Burial stacking indicates intentional ritual

The stacking of burials at the cluster behind a rock is considered a landmark in the cave, testifying to a funerary practice among the Neanderthals of Shanidar. The researchers suggest that these burials succeeded one another over the course of a few years or even a few decades, indicating intentional and potentially symbolic funerary behavior.