Scientists have reconstructed theskullof a 40-somethingNeanderthal womanburied in a cave75,000 years ago.
The woman, found in 2018, was given the nameShanidar Zafter the cave in Iraqi Kurdistan where she was laid to rest.
To learn more about Neanderthal anatomy,scientistsspent nine months piecing together Shanidar Z’s skull from 200 bone fragments.
HighlightsShanidar Z, a Neanderthal woman, lived 75,000 years ago and was buried in Iraqi Kurdistan.Scientists reconstructed her skull from 200 bone fragments over nine months.Shanidar Z is estimated to have been in her mid-40s at the time of her death.
“There is some artistic license there, but at the heart of it is the real skull and real data on what we know about (these) people,” said Dr. Emma Pomeroy, a paleoanthropologist and associate professor with the University of Cambridge’s department of archaeology who unearthed the skeleton.
Scientists have reconstructed the skull of a Neanderthal woman after piecing together 200 bonefragments
Image credits:University of Cambridge/Jamie Simonds
Neanderthalsinhabited Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia Mountains for approximately 300,000 years, overlapping with our own species, Homo sapiens, for about 30,000 years. Evidence confirms that, during this period, Neanderthals and modern humans encountered each other andinterbred.
“She’s actually got quite a large face for her size,” Dr. Pomeroy, who appears in the film, explained.
“She’s got quite big brow ridges, which typically we wouldn’t see, but I think dressed in modern clothes, you probably wouldn’t look twice.”
In addition to more prominent brow ridges, another difference between the anatomy of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens is that the former had no chins, the paleoanthropologist added.
At the time of the excavation, Pomeroy was unable to immediately determine the sex of Shanidar Z, given that the lower part of the body, including pelvic bones, wasn’t preserved.
The woman was given the name Shanidar Z after the cave in Iraqi Kurdistan where shewasburied
Image credits:University of Cambridge/Graeme Barker
Shanidar Z lived 75,000 years ago andis believedto have died in her mid-40s
Researchers were able to conclude that Shanidar Z was a woman after using a technique involving the sequencing of proteins inside the tooth enamel.
Furthermore, after analyzing the wear and tear on her teeth and bones, they estimated that Shanidar Z was in her mid-40s when she wasburied.
“It’s a reasonable estimate, but we can’t be 100% sure, actually, that they weren’t older,” Pomeroy said.
“What we can say is this is someone who had lived a relatively long life. For that society, they probably would have been quite important in terms of their knowledge, their life experience.”
Shanidar Z is the first Neanderthal found in the cave— located in the foothills ofIraq— in over 50 years.
The recreation of Shanidar Z’s skullis shownin the new Netflix documentarySecrets of the Neanderthals
Image credits:University of Cambridge
Scientists have proven that it was common for the Neanderthals of Shanidar Cave to lay their dead to rest at the site, contradicting long-held beliefs that members of this species were brutish and insensitive.
Discoveries of decorative shells and theuse of red ochre pigmentat Neanderthal sites also suggest that they used objects forart. This would mean that Neanderthals had symbolic abilities once thought to be uniquely human.
Pomeroy, who unearthed the skeleton, said the work of her dedicated team helped“bridge that gap between anatomy and 75,000 yearsof time“
Image credits:University of Cambridge/Emma Pomeroy
After excavating the skull, researchers used a glue-like consolidant to harden the fossilized bones. Then, they removed them in small blocks of cave sediment and sent them to the University of Cambridge for analysis.
As Pomeroy explained, the reconstruction of the Neanderthal skull helps “bridge that gap between anatomy and 75,000 years of time.”
People congratulated the team for their incredible accomplishment
Lei RV
Renan Duarte
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