Researchers excavating the Shanidar cave in Iraqi Kurdistan have identified what may be the oldest known case of a human ancestor being fatally wounded by a wooden spear. The evidence comes from an adult Neanderthal who died more than 70,000 years ago. The skeletal remains show a distinctive round hole approximately 1.5 centimeters wide in the left shoulder blade, accompanied by three radiating fractures and bone fragments that appear to have been driven inward at the time of impact.
The injured individual was among at least five Neanderthals whose remains were found buried in a small depression beneath nearly 8 meters of rock and sediment. The bodies appeared to have been deposited at the same location over an extended period, with some remains positioned atop others still in various stages of decomposition. According to Dr. Emma Pomeroy of the University of Cambridge, this pattern of repeated burial at a single site suggests deliberate and meaningful behavior regarding the treatment of the deceased, which is relatively uncommon in the archaeological record of Neanderthals.
Analysis of the wound’s characteristics indicates a wooden spear likely struck the individual from the front with considerable force. The angle and depth of penetration suggest the weapon would have passed through the chest cavity, potentially puncturing the lung and severing major blood vessels before exiting through the shoulder blade. Pomeroy characterized the wound pattern as consistent with a targeted strike aimed at the heart rather than an accidental injury.
The individual was already in poor health at the time of the fatal wound. Dental examination revealed a vertically split lower incisor and misaligned neighboring teeth, injuries that would have caused severe pain and required years to acquire the layer of hardened plaque observed on the tooth. Evidence suggests Neanderthals at the site hunted ibex using wooden spears, and while wooden artifacts from prehistory are rare due to decomposition, spear examples have been found at other locations dating back hundreds of thousands of years. Researchers acknowledge uncertainty about whether the spear wound resulted from interpersonal violence or a hunting accident.
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