Neanderthal murder mystery reveals a tale of violence and compassion
Headline from KION Central Coast
By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a Neanderthal whose life came to a brutal end 75,000 years ago when a sharpened wooden spear plunged into the individual’s chest in one of the earliest known examples of a possible homicide.
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A round hole in the shoulder blade (scapula) of a Neanderthal whose partial remains were unearthed in a cave in Iraqi Kurdistan may be the earliest known example of lethal interpersonal violence with a wooden spear in the hominin fossil record.
Adult excavated in an Iraqi Kurdistan cave died more than 70,000 years ago and bears ‘kill shot’ shoulder wound A smooth round hole in the shoulder blade of a Neanderthal who died more than 70,000 years ago may be the oldest evidence so far of a human ancestor being killed by a wooden spear.
By Katie Hunt, CNN (CNN) — Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a Neanderthal whose life came to a brutal end 75,000 years ago when a sharpened wooden spear plunged into the individual’s chest in one of the earliest known examples of a possible homicide.
“What is particularly remarkable is that we see evidence of two contrasting facets of human nature—care and violence—juxtaposed in the same individual.”
Researchers say a 75,000-year-old Neanderthal skeleton from Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan bears a shoulder wound consistent with a fatal wooden-spear attack, possibly an intentional kill shot, though the interpretation is not certain and some experts question the evidence.
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