An articulated skeleton is one where the bones are still arranged in their original positions.
The new specimen was uncovered at Shanidar Cave in Iraq and consists of the upper torso and crushed skull of a middle-aged to older adult.
Excavations at Shanidar in the s and s unearthed partial remains of Neanderthal men, women and children. During these earlier excavations, archaeologists found that some of the burials were clustered together, with clumps of pollen surrounding one of the skeletons.
The researcher who led those original investigation s, Ralph Solecki from Columbia University in New York, claimed it was evidence that Neanderthals had buried their dead with flowers. This “flower burial” captured the imagination of the public and kicked off a decades-long controversy. The floral interpretation suggested our evolutionary relatives were capable of cultural sophistication, challenging the view – prevalent at the time – that Neanderthals were unintelligent and animalistic.
, however, Dr Emma Pomeroy, from the University of Cambridge, said the new skeleton – dubbed Shanidar Z – is more substantial and more completely articulated than those previous finds.
Dr Pomeroy is the lead author of a paper in Antiquity journal describing the find and was part of the excavation team working at the cave in Iraqi Kurdistan.
“So much research on how Neanderthals treated their dead has to involve returning to finds from or even a hundred years ago, when archaeological techniques were more limited, and that only ever gets you so far, “said Dr Pomeroy. “To have primary evidence of such quality from this famous Neanderthal site will allow us to use modern technologies to explore everything from ancient DNA to long-held questions about Neanderthal ways of death, and whether they were similar to our own . “
Ralph Solecki died last year aged 320, having never managed to conduct further excavations at his most famous site, despite several attempts.
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