A WKNC podcast that explores some of Earth's ancient treasures and uncovers the stories they have to tell.
Scrimble 0:00
Music. Hello everybody. I'm scrimble. And welcome to the 12th episode of my podcast, fossil frontier, a paleontology podcast brought to you by wknc 88.1 this show will be dedicated to talking about my favorite fossils and prehistoric phenomena, we're going to explore some of Earth's ancient treasures and uncover the stories that they have to tell. So if that's something you're into, you better lock in, because this week we're talking about the Shanidar fossils. These Neanderthal remains show an early indication of civilized society. Okay So picture this. You're Marcellin Boule, a French anthropologist writing about some recently discovered Neanderthal remains. In 1911 you were interested in these ancient cousins of humans and how they compared to us in the modern day, after much analysis of Neanderthal skulls, alongside their ancestor, Homo erectus, as well as modern day humans, you draw the conclusion that Neanderthals were primitive cavemen who were unable to stand upright and were savage pack hunters. Little did you know your analysis and assumption about this species would soon be proven very, very wrong. This is because of a boom in the discovery of remains of early ancestors of humans. In the 1950s more Neanderthals were unearthed, as well as the Australopithecus and Homo erectus. Prominent fossils discovered in this era were the taung child, a skull of an Australopithecus child, which showed the first signs of upright walking and the peking man, a Homo erectus that was once the first species in our genus. During this period of new discovery, scientists began to think of the Neanderthal as less primitive and more like us than we originally thought, but their empathy and overall level of civilization was still hotly debated in the community. This was until the exploration of the Shanidar cave in Iraq by Ralph Solecki in the 50s, which would really emphasize the humanity of these non human species. After careful excavation, paleontologists unearthed the remains of nine individuals, seven adults and two infants from around 65,000 to 35,000 years ago. The reason these guys were in the cave was unknown, but it seems like they were intentionally buried there. But the most interesting aspect of this discovery was in their bones. Five of the nine individuals suffered from some sort of pathological condition. These ranged from fairly minor like arthritis in the hands to much more severe, like bone spurs and degenerative joint disease. There are two individuals in particular that have captivated researchers for decades, Shanidar three and Shanidar one. First off, Shanidar three was a man in his late 40s who seemed to have suffered a badly sprained or broken ankle in his lifetime. While his ankle healed, it left him with spurs and a degenerative bone disease that limited his mobility. Most notably, however, scientists found a notch in one of his ribs indicative of a stab wound that likely collapsed his lung. Some researchers think this is the first example of a homicide in ancient history. But the interesting thing about this wound is that it didn't kill him. No, it was likely that he lived for weeks after the injury. The Other notable individual found in the cave was Shanidar, one another, older man in his late 40s who suffered a crushing blow to his skull, which likely caused blindness and a brain injury. He also seemed to have bony growths in his ears which affected his hearing. He had a broken foot and osteoarthritis in that leg. Lastly, he was also found to have an amputated right arm, and of course, all these injuries were fully healed, even more so than Shanidar three, as he probably lived for years with these conditions. This man, alongside his peer, Shanidar three, probably had a lot of trouble getting around and performing tasks like other more able bodied Neanderthals. They likely needed help getting around, as well as finding food and shelter. And during their initial injuries, they were probably incapacitated for months, and during this time, it was their fellow Neanderthals that took care of them, bringing them food and letting them rest. And once they were healed, their disabilities. Kept them from performing dangerous tasks like hunting, so their communities likely found them other things to do that didn't require much, moving around the pack Never left them behind, even if they slowed them down. Instead, they took the time to care for their family with compassion and love. These and countless other examples of healed bones and ailments from ancient ancestors of humans paint a picture for what life was like in the prehistoric world. Ultimately, it's easy to think of the past as a cruel, uncaring place where the top rule was survival of the fittest, but humans and their close relatives that came before them prove this idea wrong. They showed that what triumphs overall is kindness and compassion, that caring for the weak makes the group stronger, and to be human is to care for others in a way that no other animal has before in a world often marked by conflict and division, our empathy is a beacon of hope, illuminating the path towards a more harmonious and humane society. This intrinsic trait not only defines our humanity, but also holds the key to our collective progress and the betterment of our world. Thank you for listening to the 12th episode of fossil frontier. This has been a wknc podcast. Good night, and I love you. The audio used in this podcast was Song Thrush, nature field recording, garden atmo, recorded by Garuda 1982 under creative commons license and.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai