Neanderthal shows oldest evidence of a wooden spear
A study of remains from Iraq points to lethal violence, but leaves room for a hunting accident.
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A round injury in the shoulder blade of a Neanderthal who lived around 75,000 years ago may be the oldest evidence of lethal violence involving a wooden spear. The study has been published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports.
The remains were found in Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and collaborating institutions studied, among other things, a shoulder blade that had been exceptionally well preserved.
According to the researchers, the shape of the injury fits a sharp wooden point better than a stone spearhead. Reconstructions and comparisons with experimental spear wounds support that interpretation, but cannot establish with absolute certainty exactly what happened.
The authors believe that the Neanderthal was struck violently shortly before his death. An alternative explanation, such as an accident during hunting, cannot, in their view, be completely ruled out. They therefore refer to possible evidence of interpersonal violence.
The study also contains indications that the individual had previously survived a serious injury. This fits broader archaeological evidence that Neanderthals cared for sick or injured group members.
The find does not show that Neanderthals were constantly waging war against one another. Violent remains from this period are scarce. The study's value lies mainly in the combination of bone analysis, experimental archaeology and the exceptional age of the material.
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The study's status and main conclusion have been confirmed by the university and an independent publication. The text preserves the uncertainty about the precise cause of the injury.
- confirmed The remains are around 75,000 years old. — Mentioned in the Cambridge publication. source
- confirmed The study appeared in Scientific Reports. — Reported by Cambridge and Cadena SER. source
- confirmed The interpretation may point to a wooden spear. — The researchers base this on the shape of the injury and experimental comparisons. source
- confirmed A hunting accident cannot be completely ruled out. — The independent discussion mentions this alternative interpretation. source
Editor's note
The study is peer-reviewed, but the interpretation of the injury remains probabilistic. The text avoids graphic details and presents a hunting accident as an alternative that cannot be ruled out.Sources
- Fatal Neanderthal wound may be earliest evidence of a wooden spear attack — University of Cambridge
- Een dodelijke wond bij een Neanderthaler — Cadena SER
- Scientific Reports — Nature Portfolio
More on this in Dutch media
- NRC — „neanderthalers shanidar”
- NU.nl — „neanderthalers shanidar”
- De Telegraaf — „neanderthalers shanidar”