Overview
- A Cambridge‑led team reported on Oct. 15 a 15 mm circular hole in the left scapula of a Neanderthal called Shanidar A that they interpret as a perimortem puncture made by a downward thrusting wooden spear.
- The authors used 3D modelling, microscopic study and experimental comparisons to argue the spear likely entered the chest from the front, pierced lung and major vessels, and produced an exit perforation in the shoulder blade consistent with a rapid, lethal ‘heart shot’.
- Dental evidence shows one lower front tooth was split long before death and developed heavy tartar, indicating Shanidar A survived at least a year after a brutal facial injury and probably received help eating or other care from group members.
- The team stresses the context is uncertain and acknowledges alternative scenarios such as a hunting accident; they and external experts say further force and impact experiments are needed because no preserved weapon was found with the bones.
- Shanidar Cave has long shown repeated Neanderthal burials and other healed injuries, and if the spear interpretation holds it would link known woodworking weaponry to both lethal violence and sustained social support in Neanderthal groups.