Some fairly recent finds shed some disturbing light on ancient times and left behind a fairly creepy mystery in the process. Check this out!
Shanidar 3
50,000 B.C.
In the Zagros Mountains of Northern Iraq, archaeologists unearthed a Neanderthal murder victim. The specimen, named “Shanidar 3,” was a 40–50 year old and died of a puncture wound to his ninth rib. After testing Paleolithic weapons on goat and pig carcasses, experts determined a lightweight throwing spear caused the damage. Neanderthals had long, heavy stabbing spears, but they did not have projectile technology.
The prime suspect: a modern human. Was it a territorial dispute? An accidental encounter with fatal consequences? Or were the modern humans hungry? Evidence has emerged that modern man cannibalized Neanderthals. Tool marks on Neanderthal jawbones from Les Rois cave in southwestern France match those on slaughtered reindeer remains from the area. Irregular groves in jaws mean one thing: Neanderthal tongues were sliced out—a Paleolithic delicacy. Traces of pollen on remains deep within the Shanidar cave suggest that Neanderthals buried flowers with their dead. In the quest for hominid world domination, who were the real savages?
Guess that the more advanced we get, the more brutal and primitive we become! That, my friends, is a scary thought! However, if you watch the news every day, it's not that hard to imagine!
Coffee inside today. It's supposed to start raining again tonight, so the patio will be wet!
