A nearly perfectly round hole in a 75,000-year-old bone could reveal the final moments of a Neanderthal.
The discovery comes from Shanidar Cave, in Iraqi Kurdistan. The site is known for its prehistoric human remains, found in the same area over the course of excavations. Researchers identified a new individual there, named Shanidar A, whose partial skeleton had been preserved beneath several meters of sediment.
Photographs of the scapula and ribs attributed to Shanidar A, whose scapula shows a perforation.
Source: Pomeroy et al., Scientific Reports (2026), figure 5, CC BY 4.0.
It was the left scapula that drew attention. This flat bone, located behind the shoulder, has a circular perforation about 15 millimeters across. Small fractures radiate from the hole, as if an object had passed through the bone. For the researchers, this injury would have been inflicted around the time of death.
The shape of the hole offers a clue about the object that may have caused it. A stone point generally leaves a more angular cut. Here, the perforation is more consistent with one that could be produced by a wooden spear with a rounded, pointed tip. The spear itself was not found.
If this explanation is correct, the weapon would have come from the front of the body and could have reached vital organs. The study therefore suggests a fatal injury. But it cannot establish what really happened: an accident during a hunt and an act of violence both remain possible.
The skeleton also tells of a much earlier episode. Several front teeth bear signs of severe facial trauma. Yet later changes show that Shanidar A survived this injury for a long time, at least long enough to continue using the teeth despite their damage.
Such an injury would probably have made eating difficult. The researchers therefore think that this individual may have received help from relatives to eat or recover. This is a possibility, not direct evidence of organized care. Nevertheless, it reminds us that Neanderthals lived within social groups.
Shanidar A was found near the remains of four other Neanderthals. Their grouping could indicate that the bodies were deliberately placed in this part of the cave at different times. Water later displaced some of the bones, making it more difficult to reconstruct the scene.
Although these remains cannot tell us with certainty how Shanidar A died, they bring together three rare clues in a single story: an ancient injury survived, a possible fatal spear strike and a body found among others. Together, these elements shed light on the lives, dangers and social relationships of our prehistoric close cousins.