Was Neanderthal life violent? This wound suggests lethal fighting was more common

A 75,000-year-old Neanderthal spear wound may be evidence violence shaped human life far earlier than thought. A wooden spear caused the hole in this Neanderthal shoulder blade, scientists say A Neanderthal who died 75,000 years ago may have been struck through the chest by a sharpened wooden spear, archaeologists say. They say a 15mm hole found in a shoulder blade in a cave in Iraqi Kurdistan could be the earliest evidence of lethal violence involving such a weapon. From the angle of the wound and other evidence, the researchers believe the spear entered the individual's chest and passed through the body – probably damaging a lung and major blood vessels – and exited through the left shoulder blade to leave a near-perfect hole.

The research is the latest in emerging evidence that suggests Neanderthal societies experienced more violence than previously thought. Neanderthals were a separate species of humans that went extinct around 40,000 years ago. They lived across a large expanse of Europe and western and central Asia, and sometimes overlapped with our species, Homo sapiens. The wounded Neanderthal's remains were found in a cave in Iraqi Kurdistan. As well as the left shoulder blade, the individual's right hand, three ribs and some teeth were also found. A hole in the shoulder blade may be the earliest evidence of "lethal