Neanderthal remains may be earliest human ancestor find killed by a spear

A smooth round hole in the shoulder blade of a Neanderthal who died more than 70,000 years ago may be the oldest evidence so far of a human ancestor being killed by a wooden spear.

Archaeologists identified the distinctive injury after excavating remains of the adult and other Neanderthals from under rock and sediment in the Shanidar cave in Iraq.

Shanidar has been a field site for Professor Chris Hunt, of Liverpool John Moores university, for more than two decades.

He says five Neanderthals were buried at the same spot over several years with some of the bodies appearing to have been laid on top of others that were still decomposing.

“They’re coming back to the same spot to place bodies over a number of years or several decades and that’s really quite unusual in in the Neanderthal archaeological record,” said Dr Emma Pomeroy, Professor Hunt's collaborator at the University of Cambridge. “It suggests there’s some kind of meaningful behaviour in depositing the dead there.”

IMAGE: The left shoulder blade revealed three fractures spreading out from the 1.5cm-wide hole and fragments of bone that filled the wound. Photograph: University of Cambridge

Researchers found only partial remains of the injured Neanderthal, an adult aged about 45. The left shoulder blade that bears the wound was found with seven teeth, several ribs and fragments, and a near complete right hand that was leaning against the boulder.

The shoulder revealed three fractures spreading out from the 1.5cm-wide hole and fragments of bone that filled the wound. The shards were probably punched out of the thin bone when the spear hit, the scientists said.

The circular shape of the hole and the pattern of bone damage strongly suggest a wound inflicted by a wooden spear striking the body from the front. But they could not say if it was a hunting accident or an intentional attack.

Pomeroy said the position of the wound and the force needed to push the spear through the chest, where it would have punctured the lung and probably severed arteries before punching out of the shoulder blade, pointed to a “kill shot” directed at the heart. “I don’t think that’s something you do accidentally,” she said.

The spear wound was almost certainly lethal, but the individual was in bad shape before the fatal blow. Examination of the teeth revealed a lower incisor split vertically, leaving only half in place, its neighbours twisted inwards, according to details published in Scientific Reports.

Chris Hunt, who co-authored the paper, said Neanderthals at Shanidar were taking ibex as their main prey and could have used wooden spears shaped like modern javelins to kill the animals.