A new Scientific Reports paper on Shanidar A reconstructs two very different episodes in a Neanderthal life around 75,000 years ago.
The earlier injury severely damaged the mouth. A split incisor subsequently accumulated calculus and further wear: the damaged tooth remained in use. That is evidence of survival after the trauma. The authors suggest help from others may have been needed during recovery, particularly given the likely effects on eating and pain.
The later injury left a roughly three-fifths-inch circular hole in the shoulder blade, with radiating fractures and displaced fragments. Its shape is consistent with a wooden spear passing through the chest around the time of death. Whether it was a hunting accident or violence cannot be determined.
The remains also extend a tightly clustered sequence of bodies deposited in the cave. Repeated placement supports intentional mortuary behaviour, though it cannot tell us precisely what the place meant to those returning to it.
The remains were excavated in 2019 and 2022. The paper appeared October 15, followed by the publisher's account yesterday—not a skeleton newly found this week.