Researchers May Have Found a Neanderthal Murder

Archaeologists say one Neanderthal's death in an Iraqi cave looks a lot like murder. A new analysis of remains dubbed "Shanidar A," buried about 75,000 years ago in Shanidar Cave, points to a wooden spear driven through the chest at high speed and exiting via the shoulder blade, reports Live Science. "The position of the wound and the force required to push it right through the Neanderthal's body bear the hallmarks of an intended kill shot directed towards the heart," lead author Emma Pomeroy of the University of Cambridge says in a statement.

The shoulder wound's shape matches tests with wooden spears, according to the study in Scientific Reports. While researchers note that the injury could also have come from a hunting mishap, "I don't think that's something you do accidentally," says Pomeroy, per the Guardian. The same individual had earlier suffered a shattered front tooth and likely facial trauma, yet survived long enough for the tooth to wear down—evidence, scientists say, that Neanderthals at Shanidar not only dealt out violence but cared for their injured.