75,000-year-old Neanderthal may have been killed by a spear aimed at the heart

A Neanderthal who died 75,000 years ago may have been killed by a wooden spear deliberately aimed at the heart, revealing rare evidence of prehistoric violence. A circular hole in the shoulder blade suggests the weapon pierced the chest and caused a rapidly fatal injury. Surprisingly, the same individual had survived an earlier devastating facial injury, suggesting other Neanderthals provided care and support.

75,000-year-old Neanderthal may have been killed by a spear aimed at the heart. The remarkable discovery, made in a cave in Iraqi Kurdistan, suggests that the individual was struck by a sharpened wooden weapon that passed through the chest, potentially in a deliberate attack aimed at the heart. Researchers believe the wound could represent the oldest evidence in the hominin fossil record of fatal interpersonal violence involving a wooden spear.

The shoulder blade (scapula) is an unusually delicate bone, with some areas so thin that light can pass through them. Despite its fragile structure, the Neanderthal’s bone survived for about 75,000 years beneath seven and a half meters of rock and sediment. Almost the entire bone remained intact, except for a remarkably precise circular opening measuring 15 millimeters across.