#shanidar

[fishfingersandscarves]

been thinking about her recently

[visions-of-our-past]

The Shanidar burial depicted by Karen Carr.

[tenth-sentence]

Another man at Shanidar had crippling arthritis in his right ankle, but also managed to get by, at least until a stab wound killed him.

"Why the West Rules – For Now: The patterns of history and what they reveal about the future" - Ian Morris

[trans-kafka]

Tattoos on either side of your heart. One says "Shanidar" and the other says "Omelas".

[hermythicalcreatures]

I’ve lately been getting into a rabbit hole. I have always enjoyed learning about the past to understand the present and anticipate the future. Recently saw the documentary “SECRET OF THE NEANDERTHALS”

and was fascinated by the fossils at Shanidar. How emotional must this cave actually make us feel? I was particularly fascinated by Shanidar 4 fossil that had the burial. I want to learn so much more about Species before Homo sapiens.

[neanderthalfunerary]

Announcement of Death: An Obituary for Shanidar I (November 2, 2022)

Skull cast of Shanidar I (Clark, 2012).

Shanidar 1, aged somewhere around 30 to 45, is estimated to have perished from falling rocks in a collapsing Shanidar Cave, Iraq, between 45,000 and 35,000 years ago.

Laid to rest (perhaps by survivors of the collapse) in a pit and covered with sediment from later cave-ins, his remains were discovered by Ralph Solecki in 1957. [1]

His burial, alongside those of at least nine others at the site, constitute a foundational source of insight into the mortuary practices of Homo neanderthalensis. [2]

Paleo-pathological assessment has determined that throughout the course of his life, ‘Nandy’- as he was nicknamed by his excavators- experienced a variety of significant injuries and degeneration. [3]

Speculative illustration of Shanidar I (Miladinovic).

A major blow to the head likely rendered him at least partially blind in his left eye, on top of profound hearing loss from bone spurs in both ear canals. Examination of these exostoses yielded a diagnosis of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, making Nandy the earliest potential example of this condition. [4] Worn down teeth indicate a possible degenerative disease, and he would have walked with a limp as a result of both legs being broken or deformed. With Nandy's lower right arm missing and a distinct fracture at the humerus, there is evidence to suggest that he was the recipient of some early form of surgery and amputation. [5]

Because of the debilitating effects of these injuries, it is unlikely that Nandy would have been able to survive to such old age without external support. The fact that many of his pathologies show signs of healing over time insinuate that he was provided for, to some extent, by members of his community.

Trauma sustained to the right side of Shanidar I’s face (Trinkhaus, 2017).

‘Compassion,’ or some analogous concept, may have played an important role in Neanderthal thought processes and social interactions. [6]

Nandy and the other Shanidar specimens exhibiting antemortem trauma are far from the only members of their species to have been found in situations indicative of intentional burial.

Shanidar 1 is not survived by any family members. However, to this day, the individuals from Shanidar Cave provide anthropologists with a wealth of information about the extent of Neanderthal capacity for symbolic thought, technological complexity, and altruism.

Illustration depicting a gathering in Shanidar Cave (Miladinovic).

----- References & Further Reading -----

[1] Shanidar Cave

Wikipedia. “Shanidar Cave,” October 29, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanidar_Cave#Shanidar_1.‌

[2] Neanderthal mortuary practices in the context of Shanidar Z

Lewsy, Fred. “Shanidar Z: What Did Neanderthals Do with Their Dead?” University of Cambridge, February 18, 2020. https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/shanidarz.‌

[3] Trauma among the Shanidar Neanderthals

Trinkaus, E., and M. R. Zimmerman. “Trauma among the Shanidar Neandertals.” American Journal of Physical Anthropology 57, no. 1 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1002/AJPA.1330570108.‌

[4] Hearing loss in Shanidar I

Trinkaus, Erik, and Sébastien Villotte. “External Auditory Exostoses and Hearing Loss in the Shanidar 1 Neandertal.” Edited by Karen Rosenberg. PLOS ONE 12, no. 10 (October 20, 2017): e0186684. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186684.‌

[5] Health-related care for the Shanidar I

Kent, Laura. “Health-Related Care for the Neanderthal Shanidar 1.” ANU Undergraduate Research Journal 8 (August 1, 2017): 83–91. https://doi.org/10.22459/aurj.08.2016.07.‌

[6] Neanderthal caregiving and emotional constructs

Spikins, Penny, Andy Needham, Lorna Tilley, and Gail Hitchens. “Calculated or Caring? Neanderthal Healthcare in Social Context.” World Archaeology 50, no. 3 (February 22, 2018): 384–403. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2018.1433060.‌

[archaeologs]

Photo:  The cave of Shanidar lies in the Bradost mountain, part of Zagros Mountain range in Erbil, Iraq.

🇬🇧 Shanidar A cave in northern Iraq at an altitude of 745 metres. A small village site outside, Zawi Chemi Shanidar, has produced some evidence for early farming at the time of the Zarzian, whose levels at the summit of the cave are about 10,000 be. Beneath early Upper Palaeolithic levels are Mousterian layers, from which come a series of Neanderthal skeletons, several thought to have been killed by rock falls. One Neanderthal was apparently buried with flowers, the clusters of pollen at the centre surviving. Another had apparently had his arm crudely amputated above the elbow, and lived for some time afterwards.

🇹🇷 Şanidar Kuzey Irak'ta 745 metre yükseklikte bir mağara. Zawi Chemi Shanidar isimli küçük bir köy bölgesi içerisinde yer alır. Mağara, Zarzian dönemi içerisine tarihlendirilen tarım kalıntılarını içerir, kalıntılar M.Ö. 10 bin tarihlerine kadar tarihlendirilebilmektedir. İlk Paleolitik seviyelerin altında, bir seri Neandertal iskeletlerini içeren Mousterian katmanları vardır, buradaki ölülerin bazılarının kaya düşmesi sonucu öldüğü düşünülmektedir. Bir Neandertal ilk defa bu mağara içerisinde çiçeklerle birlikte gömülmüştür. Bir başkasının kolunu dirsek üstünde kaybettiği ve daha sonra bir süre yaşadığı saptanmıştır.

http://www.archaeologs.com/w/shanidar/

[southernpansy666]

The First Dogs: Direwolf (Short Story)

The wolves of Shanidar welcome three unexpected newcomers into their pack