A 75,000-year-old Neanderthal shoulder wound points to a wooden spear
Researchers at the University of Cambridge say a 15-millimetre hole in the shoulder blade of Shanidar A, found in Iraqi Kurdistan, is consistent with a fatal wooden-spear wound. The adult, estimated to have been about 45, had also survived a severe facial injury that split a tooth; the researchers say the long-term damage likely required care from others. Whether the spear strike was an attack or a hunting accident remains unknown.
Bottom line — Shanidar A may be the earliest known evidence of a fatal wooden-spear wound, but its cause remains uncertain.
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The Cambridge team says bone fragments and the hole’s bevelled edge support a spear entering the chest from the front and exiting through the shoulder blade.
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The researchers argue the circular wound fits a wooden spear; a stone-tipped weapon would be expected to leave a different-shaped mark.
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Emma Pomeroy of Cambridge says the facial injury likely left Shanidar A in pain and with difficulty eating for at least a year.
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Pomeroy says the fatal wound may have been an intended strike towards the heart, while acknowledging a hunting accident is possible.
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The remains were found in a burial cluster at Shanidar Cave; Cambridge researchers say at least five Neanderthals were placed in the same small area over years or decades.
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An independent archaeologist quoted by ABC said more evidence is needed to establish the cause of death from the shoulder wound alone.