Shanidar Cave

Shanidar

Iraq · Erbil

CaveIntermittent excavation
Approximate periodMiddle Paleolithic, Upper Paleolithic, Epipaleolithic and early Holocene See on the map ↓

In brief

The cave in the Zagros Mountains is important for its Neanderthal remains and layers containing different stone tool traditions. Excavations provide data for research into how Neanderthals placed their dead and the cave's long-term use.

What was found?

  • 1Neanderthal skeletons

    Neanderthal remains belonging to different individuals were found in the cave. According to researchers, an individual who lived for a long time with severe health problems suggests care and mutual assistance within the community.

  • 2Şanidar Z

    This is a Neanderthal individual whose skull and upper body were found with their anatomical connections preserved. Its position is important for investigating the deliberate placement of the dead in a particular part of the cave.

  • 3Stone tools

    Tool assemblages belonging to the Mousterian, Baradostian, and Zarzian phases were identified. Burins and scrapers in the Upper Paleolithic layers allow comparison of tool production across different periods.

  • 4Early Holocene cemetery

    A cemetery belonging to human communities much later than the Neanderthals was also found in the cave. This discovery shows that the cave was used as a place for depositing the dead in different periods.

  • 5Pollen around Şanidar 4

    Pollen clusters around the human remains previously led to the interpretation that the individual had been buried with flowers. According to new research, nesting bees may have carried at least some of the pollen.

What does it point to?

Şanidar provides important evidence for understanding Neanderthals' social relationships and their relationship with their dead. According to researchers, the clustering of some remains indicates deliberate placement; the interpretation that they were buried with flowers, however, remains unconfirmed.

What did it teach us?

  1. By showing that individuals with health problems could survive, it strengthened the discussion of care and mutual assistance among Neanderthals.
  2. It provided evidence that the dead may have been repeatedly placed in a particular location.
  3. It showed that pollen alone does not prove a funeral ceremony involving flowers.
  4. It documented traces of different Paleolithic communities and later people in the same cave.

Images

Stone tool, Mousterian period, c. 50,000 BCE. From the paleolithic cave of Shanidar, Iraq.
Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Shanidar Cave6
Khoshhat · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Latest news / selected archive

The Shanidar Z find, published in 2020, introduced new Neanderthal remains with preserved joint connections to the scientific community.

Record

Culture
Mousterian, Baradostian and Zarzian
First modern dig
1951
Team / historical
Graeme Barker; Cambridge Üniversitesi ve Irak Kürdistan Bölgesi Eski Eserler Müdürlüğü
Coordinates
36.8333°, 44.2167°

Sources

  1. antiquity.ac.uk
  2. persee.fr
  3. arch.cam.ac.uk
  4. Cambridge Üniversitesi — Şanidar Z
  5. Cambridge Üniversitesi — Yeni Neandertal kalıntıları
  6. Journal of Archaeological Science — Polen araştırması

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