A 75,000-year-old Neanderthal shoulder blade discovered at Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan contains a precise, 15-millimeter hole that may be the oldest known evidence of deadly interpersonal violence involving a wooden spear. Researchers from the University of Cambridge believe the weapon could have entered the front of the individual’s chest and pierced the heart or a major blood vessel, although they cannot rule out a hunting accident. Other remains from the cave also suggest that the same Neanderthal survived severe facial injuries for at least a year with help from the community.
A possible fatal spear wound
The scapula, or shoulder blade, is a delicate bone. Some parts are thin enough for light to pass through, yet Shanidar A’s scapula remained almost entirely intact after about 75,000 years beneath approximately 7.5 meters of rock and sediment. The only major damage was a remarkably precise circular opening measuring 15 millimeters across.
Archaeologists believe the hole was made by a sharpened wooden spear. Its rounded shape is an important clue: weapons tipped with flint or stone generally produce openings with flatter or more angular edges.
The researchers’ reconstruction suggests that the spear entered the front of the Neanderthal’s left chest, passed through the lungs and possibly a major blood vessel, and then continued through the body until it pierced the shoulder blade from behind. Injuries of this severity can cause immediate death, and the researchers say the location may indicate a deliberate attack aimed at the heart.
The shape of the wound provides further information. Its chamfered edges are commonly associated with exit wounds, while small bone fragments displaced during the impact suggest that the weapon may have entered from above and traveled downward through the body.
Scientists used the fragments to partially reconstruct the damaged area. Subtle ridges left by muscle attachments helped them determine where the pieces originally belonged.
“The complete preservation of a 75,000-year-old scapula is extraordinary. These bones are so thin that modern burials often do not yield complete scapulae,” said study lead author Dr Emma Pomeroy of the Cambridge Department of Archaeology. “We were able to pull it out in one piece from under about 8 meters of rock and sediment.”
The remains were named Shanidar A after the cave where they were discovered. The findings were published in the scientific journal Scientific Reports.
Wooden spears were sophisticated weapons
Sharp wooden weapons were used hundreds of thousands of years ago, but relatively few have survived. Wood usually decays over time, making evidence of ancient woodworking and weapon technology difficult for archaeologists to recover.
One important discovery was made in the 1990s at Schöningen in Germany, where researchers found wooden spears preserved under water. The weapons date to approximately 200,000 years ago, when early Neanderthals lived in Europe.
Some of the Schöningen spears were more than 2 meters long. Their makers carefully selected and shaped the wood to produce a balanced weapon suitable for throwing, much like a modern javelin. Archaeologists believe the spears were probably used to hunt large animals.
Even older evidence comes from Clacton-on-Sea in England. In 1911, a sharpened piece of wood found on the shoreline was identified as part of a spear dating back more than 400,000 years. Only the tip survives, but it is considered the oldest known round wooden spear.
Cambridge researchers believe a similar weapon may have killed Shanidar A. If their interpretation is correct, the injury would be the first evidence of sharpened wooden spears being used in violence in the prehistoric Middle East.
“The holes left by reproductions of spears from this period match very closely the holes found in Neanderthal shoulder blades,” Pomeroy said. “That early technique will definitely work on this wound.”
“The evidence we have suggests that Neanderthals and their ancestors developed woodworking and weapon-making skills thousands of years before Shanidar A’s death. This package of abilities likely spanned the entire range of Neanderthal homelands, from Wales to Siberia.”
Attack or hunting accident?
The wound cannot establish exactly what happened or identify who used the weapon. It is also impossible to prove whether modern humans played any role. The researchers say that violence between Neanderthals is the simplest explanation consistent with the available evidence, but they acknowledge that the injury could have resulted from an accident during a hunt.
Accidents involving wooden spears would have been possible when Neanderthals hunted large, dangerous animals at close range, Pomeroy said.
“It’s easy to imagine that animals such as mammoths could have been hunted at close range with impaled spears, resulting in fatal injuries.”
However, the wound’s location and the force required to drive the weapon into the body suggest that the strike may have been intentional.
“The location of the wound and the force required to pierce it into the Neanderthal’s body indicate signs of deliberate killing aimed at the heart.”
“All we know about the end of this Neanderthal’s life is that it was violent and that it happened on the tip of a wooden spear,” said Professor Graham Barker, a fellow at St John’s University, Cambridge, who is leading the Shanidar Cave excavation.
“Evidence of organized violence is extremely rare in deep prehistory. Most come from the era of sedentary rural societies, thousands of years after hunter-gatherer societies like Neanderthals.”
Evidence of care after severe injuries
Although Shanidar A appears to have died violently, other evidence indicates that the individual received substantial care earlier in life.
Alongside the shoulder blade, archaeologists found a nearly complete right hand, two left ribs, a fragment of the right rib and seven teeth. Together, the remains represent an adult Neanderthal thought to have been about 45 years old at death.
One tooth offers particularly revealing evidence about the individual’s life. The lower-jaw front incisors were split vertically, leaving only half of each tooth intact, while the adjacent tooth had been pushed inward.
Researchers believe the damage was caused by a powerful blow to the face. The surviving halves of the incisors had substantial tartar buildup along their exposed root canals. This indicates that the damaged teeth remained in the mouth for a long time after the injury.
The evidence suggests that Shanidar A survived the initial trauma rather than dying immediately. Severe facial damage would likely have made eating and communication painful and difficult.
“To survive such a tooth-cracking blow and then continue to live and eat for at least a year, and possibly longer, it would have needed care and support from other Neanderthals,” Pomeroy said.
Other members of the group may have helped by providing soft food. Previous research on sediments from Shanidar Cave found evidence that Neanderthals soaked plant foods before cooking them, a preparation method that may have made eating easier for someone with serious facial injuries.
“There is no doubt that Shanidar A had difficulty communicating and would have been in extreme pain for an extended period of time.”
For the researchers, Shanidar A’s remains embody two apparently opposing aspects of Neanderthal behavior: violence and compassion.
“The body of Shanidar A reflects many of the dualities of what we recognize as human beings. On the one hand, we have evidence of a terrible and violent end. On the other hand, this was an individual who was clearly cared for during his lifetime.”
Barker said: “It is interesting that among our closest evolutionary relatives, Neanderthals, there is evidence that both compassion and violence are embodied in this one individual.”
How Shanidar Cave changed views of Neanderthals
Shanidar Cave, in the foothills of Iraqi Kurdistan, has played a major role in changing scientific views of Neanderthal behavior.
During excavations in the 1950s, archaeologist Ralph Solecki uncovered the remains of 10 Neanderthals. Four individuals were clustered in the same area, even though they died at different times. Their placement suggested that Neanderthals may have repeatedly returned to particular parts of the cave to bury their dead.
Another discovery from a different section of the cave involved a Neanderthal who lived thousands of years later. The individual had severe disabilities, including paralysis of the arms, arthritis, hearing loss and partial blindness, but survived to old age. The survival of this person suggested that other members of the community provided assistance and care.
Findings such as these helped overturn the Victorian-era image of Neanderthals as primitive, barbaric and not fully human. Later research revealed increasingly complex behavior, including cave art and jewelry. Genetic studies have also shown that Neanderthals interbred with modern humans and left traces of their DNA in present-day populations.
Evidence of repeated burials
Excavated in 2020, Shanidar A adds another element to the picture of Neanderthal society. Since 2015, a Cambridge-led archaeological team has identified three more Neanderthals in previously known cave deposits, bringing the number of individuals at that burial site to five: four adults and one infant.
All five bodies were found in a very narrow space approximately 1.5 meters long, 1 meter wide and 1 meter deep. The site lies directly behind a large upright rock that researchers call a “conspicuous beacon.” Thin layers of sediment separate the remains, indicating that the bodies were deposited at different times.
Shanidar A was found in the deepest part of the cluster and may have been the first individual placed there. The body was lying on its back with the head facing east. The Neanderthal found directly above it had been positioned in a similar way.
These patterns suggest that the cave’s inhabitants were not simply leaving bodies wherever space was available. Instead, they may have selected a particular location and returned repeatedly to lay deceased members of the community to rest.
“The best explanation is that it was a deliberate and symbolic funerary act,” Pomeroy said. “These Neanderthals returned to the same locations to bury their dead. In some cases, the earliest bodies were buried before they had fully decomposed, and this happened within years or decades.”
Together, the discoveries at Shanidar Cave present a complex picture of Neanderthal life 75,000 years ago. Shanidar A may have died in a deliberate spear attack after surviving earlier severe injuries with the help of others, and the body was eventually placed in a location that may have held special significance for the community.
Rather than supporting the outdated image of Neanderthals as simple or brutal creatures, the remains provide rare physical evidence of a society capable of both deadly violence and sustained compassion.
Source: www.sciencedaily.com
