Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about interesting discoveries, scientific advances, and more.
CNN
—
A tomb excavated in 1960 led researchers to hypothesize that Neanderthals buried their dead with flowers, challenging the commonly held view that ancient humans were stupid and barbaric. Now, scientists say important evidence from this site that helped shape research on Neanderthals may have been misunderstood.
Archaeologist Ralph Solecki discovered what became known as the Flower Burial while exploring Shanidar Cave in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. He discovered several Neanderthal specimens in his 1950s and in 1960 identified a male skeleton that became known as Shanidar 4. The 65,000-year-old ruins were surrounded by pollen clumps.
At the time, archaeologist and pollen expert Arlette Leroy-Grouin hypothesized that these masses were anthers, pollen-containing structures inside the flower. She and Solecki suggested that Neanderthals, like many humans today, may have placed flowers at graves.
“The story is in many archeology textbooks to this day,” says Chris Hunt, emeritus professor at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK and lead author of a new study on the Shanidar site. . “One of the things that convinced Solecki that Neanderthals weren’t just mean and savage, which is basically what people had thought up until then. But in reality, they were compassionate people. And we looked out for each other.”
Over the years, scientists have discovered further evidence of Neanderthal intelligence and complexity. art, stringand tool. However, the elements of the flower burial theory do not seem to match.
While working in Shanidar Cave in 2014, Hunt and his colleagues discovered traces of ancient pollen on the surface of the cave floor. If it had arrived in a Neanderthal bouquet, it would have been under thousands of years of sediment and debris, just like the Neanderthal skeleton.
“That suggested to us that there was probably something going on with the flower burial,” Hunt said.
of New study published in Journal of Archaeological Science has a different hypothesis. Rather than reaching the cave via funeral bouquets, the pollen may have traveled on cave-dwelling pollinators.
Hunt said he initially thought the tracks were leftovers from excavations decades earlier.
“My immediate thought was that Solecki may have contaminated the site,” Hunt said, possibly by bringing pollen into his shoes decades ago.
Analysis of the pollen revealed that it was thousands of years old and not a modern pollutant. However, the discovery establishes the idea that pollen entered the cave independently of humans or Neanderthals.
Provided by: Christopher Owen Hunt
Shanidar Cave in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq is seen in May. This is where Neanderthal remains were discovered along with ancient pollen. Their existence is due to the activity of bees rather than flower burial, suggests research led by Chris Hunt, professor emeritus at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
Further examination of the pollen clumps found with the skeleton cast further doubt on the original hypothesis. Some of the pollen comes from flowers that bloom at different times of the year, making it difficult to understand how they ended up together. And when Hunt examined Leroy Gaughan’s illustrations of pollen found at Shanidar 4, he found that one of his clumps contained pollen from multiple species of plants.
“That’s a red flag,” he said, because the flower’s anthers only contain pollen from that species. Even if he saw two different types of flowers in the same bouquet, it makes no sense for the pollen of two different types of flowers to be so closely attached.
However, there are ways that pollen grains from different types of flowers can easily stick together. It’s a bee.
“There are many reports of honeybees foraging on multiple species,” Hunt says. “The honeybee’s job is to pack pollen into small bags and carry them on its legs. They either go back to the hive and are eaten by the bees or are stored as food for the future.”
Provided by: Christopher Owen Hunt
An enlarged view of Shanidar Z’s torso during excavation.
Hunt discovered both ancient and modern examples of burrows made by ground-nesting bees at Shanidar. He said he and his colleagues have not yet found any traces of pollen in these burrows, but “we still think it’s a pretty likely way” that pollen arrived near Neanderthal graves. Ta.
“This is a complete piece of science,” said Paul Pettit, professor of paleolithic archeology at Britain’s Durham University, who was not involved in the study.
“The big question is, why did all the pollen get crushed and crushed into these tiny clumps?” Pettit says. In his view, Hunt “seems to have really nailed it there to show that it was most likely caused by bees.”
Although there is no conclusive evidence that the pollen was delivered by bees, “this paper shows that Sorecki’s original flower burial hypothesis is highly unlikely,” said the Illinois State University anthropologist. – said Fred Smith, professor emeritus of biological sciences. People not involved in the research. “And I think they proved by the flattening and degeneration of the pollen that it was ancient and not introduced by modern pollution.”
Hunt et al.’s study suggests the flower burial hypothesis is wrong, but a recent study of Neanderthals in Shanidar Cave reveals a message underlying an older theory that Neanderthals treated their dead with great care. is supported.
Provided by: Christopher Owen Hunt
The excavation site of Shanidar Cave is visible in May 2017.
The cave itself likely had some meaning, as the skeletons within the cave were buried separately, many years apart. “As far as I can see, they were talking in the group about, ‘Oh, this is what we did with Grandma. Now that young Joe is gone, maybe we should put him in the same place.’ Absolutely,” Hunt said. He said.
The skeletons in the cave share a common orientation and location, indicating that the burial method may have had some significance. Shanidar 4 and Shanidar Z, More recent skeleton discoveries announced in 2020, was found near a piece of wood. Mr Hunt said he believed they may have come from branches placed over the body to protect it.
In particular, Hunt said Shanidar Z is positioned as if it were asleep.
“There was a kindness there. They obviously cared about that individual,” he said. “I mean, why else would you do that?”