Excavations have gone on for decades in a cave in Iraqi Kurdistan where Neanderthals interred their dead. In 2018, an individual skull was discovered that had been crushed into more than 200 pieces. Years of work were spent putting that skull back together, along with the bones of the upper half of the body. Research on the teeth revealed this was a Neanderthal woman, probably in her mid-40s. They named her Shanidar Z. A facial reconstruction shows us what she may have looked like in life, 75,000 years ago.
The recreation of Shanidar Z is one of the topics covered in the new Netflix documentary that premiered today called Secrets of the Neanderthals. It also covers the burial practices of Neanderthals, and what that may tell us about their attitude toward death and possible religious beliefs. Read what we know about Shanidar Z and how she ended up in so many pieces for us to find all these years later at EurekAlert! -via Real Clear Science
(Image credit: BBC Studios/Jamie Simonds)