Exclusive: Bees may be source of pollen near remains but evidence still suggests bodies were buried with care
Buried in a partial foetal position and surrounded by flower pollen, the discovery of Shanidar 4 – a Neanderthal skeleton unearthed in 1960 – prompted a dramatic reappraisal of our ancient cousins.
Far from being brutish thugs, the Shanidar flower burial, as it became known, painted a picture of Neanderthals as empathic beings who cared enough for their dead to scour the mountains for funeral bouquets. Now, fresh evidence suggests this interpretation may have been incorrect – although Neanderthals may still have had strong funerary rituals.
About Author
More Stories
Memo to Trump: US telecoms is vulnerable to hackers. Please hang up and try again | John Naughton
Bizarre Australian mole even more unusual than first thought, new research reveals
Male mosquitoes to be genetically engineered to poison females with semen in Australian research