75,000-year-old Neanderthal may have been killed by a spear aimed at the heart
Archaeologists discovered a 75,000-year-old Neanderthal shoulder blade in Iraqi Kurdistan featuring a circular hole consistent with a wooden spear wound. This finding suggests early evidence of fatal interpersonal violence aimed at the heart.
Why it matters
Provides significant insight into the history of human violence and the behavioral patterns of Neanderthals.
A small, circular hole in a 75,000-year-old Neanderthal shoulder blade may reveal one of the earliest known cases of deadly violence involving a wooden spear. The remarkable discovery, made in a cave in Iraqi Kurdistan, suggests that the individual was struck by a sharpened wooden weapon that passed through the chest, potentially in a deliberate attack aimed at the heart.
Researchers believe the wound could represent the oldest evidence in the hominin fossil record of fatal interpersonal violence involving a wooden spear.
The shoulder blade (scapula) is an unusually delicate bone, with some areas so thin that light can pass through them. Despite its fragile structure, the Neanderthal's bone survived for approximately 75,000 years beneath seven and a half meters of rock and sediment. Almost the entire bone remained intact, except for a remarkably precise circular opening measuring 15 millimeters across.
A Deadly Spear Wound Reveals a Neanderthal's Violent Death
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