A 75,000-Year-Old Neanderthal May Be the Earliest Known Victim of a Wooden Spear Attack
Learn how a split tooth and a spear wound reveal possible care and violence in one Neanderthal’s life.
A 75,000-year-old Neanderthal, known as Shanidar A, may be the earliest known victim of a wooden spear attack, according to a new study in Scientific Reports. The Neanderthal lived in what is now Iraqi Kurdistan and had a spear wound on its lower front tooth, suggesting the individual had survived a severe facial injury. The researchers believe the Neanderthal was treated by others, indicating that care and violence were present in Neanderthal lives.
The study also found another Neanderthal, Shanidar Z, whose remains lay above Shanidar A in Shanidar Cave.
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