The Shanidar cave is located in southeast Turkey, near the Iranian border, in the Zagros Mountains of the Kurdish autonomous area of Iraq. One of the most contentious collections of Neanderthal remains can be found inside the cave.
Wild flowers at Shanidar Cave, photographed May 5, 2023. Credit: C.O. Hunt
University of Cambridge, University of London, and Liverpool John Moores University researchers worked together to reexamine one of the site's most contentious discoveries, the "Flower Burial." Previous theories have suggested that pollen discovered in a Neanderthal burial is proof of a floral grave gift.
The team presents evidence that the pollen discovered in the grave sites was placed by non-humans, most likely by bees, in an article titled "Shanidar et ses fleurs Reflections on the palynology of the Neanderthal Flower Burial hypothesis," which was published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Ralph Solecki conducted excavations in Shanidar Cave and proposed the "Flower Burial" theory. This theory holds that the Shanidar 4 Neanderthal was laid on a bed of flowers, possibly for therapeutic purposes, as a symbol of affection, or as a sign of respect.
The prior portrayals of Neanderthals as wholly brutish were called into question by this hypothesis, which also suggested that they were capable of empathy and concern.
Pollen found in the burial pits raised the notion that Solecki may have received funeral tributes. He mentions that several of the local laborers enjoyed wearing flowers on their belts and that the excavation team may have been a possible source of the pollen, however this was subsequently ruled out.
The researchers rule out the possibility that Solecki and his associates inserted the pollen based on earlier depictions by French archaeologist Arlette Leroi-Gourhan of the pollen surrounding the Shanidar 4 Neanderthal displaying flattening and corrosion, consistent with it being ancient. Instead, they come to the conclusion that the pollen was most likely present when the related Neanderthal was alive.
Mystery cleared up
According to the investigation, pollen clumps from the deposition of complete flowers are incongruous with the occurrence of taxonomically mixed clumps. The researchers contend that bees are much more likely to have collected and deposited the taxonomically mixed pollen.
The cave floor's solitary bee burrows can still be seen today in less-trafficked regions. Individual bees are a prime suspect for the pollen clumps since they are able to gather many floral pollen species while foraging, and because the cave is home to many of their burrows.
The majority of burrows are classified as sub-vertical to vertical and shallow (5 cm), while some can reach depths of more than 0.5 m and have diameters of 6–8 mm. The bullet-shaped linings are extremely resilient, and modern researchers found remains of ancient tunnel linings during their digs, providing further evidence that ancient bees were present.
Older burrows frequently contain a sand-and-ashy fill that makes them harder to spot. Textural variations from the host sediment can be noticed as they cut through stratification with close inspection (and artificial lighting).
The likelihood that the pollen aggregates were introduced by bees soon before Solecki's excavation is raised by the authors' observation that the region in which Shanidar 4 and related skeleton remains were discovered had been left open for more than a year prior to excavation.
It is possible that bees were nesting in the sediments nearby Shanidar 4 not long after it was buried because they would have been more obvious to the original excavation than the old bee burrows at the dig site.
The excavation crew and flowers could not have been gathered instantly at the moment of death under modern circumstances since none of the flowers depicted in the Shanidar 4 pollen could be simultaneously collected in any season. The pollen might have easily been spread during a growing season by bees.
Solitary bee excavating a burrow on the section wall of our trench in Shanidar Cave photographed September 4, 2022. The bee has broken through a whitish efflorescent crust into slightly-consolidated sediment behind. The insect is head-down in the burrow, spraying loose sediment out of the hole with her legs. Her abdomen is arrowed. Credit: E. Pomeroy
Solved?
However, Leroi-Gourhan's hypothesis that certain clusters included immature pollen could point to more intricate explanations. There are several issues that need to be clarified.
Out of the 21 samples containing pollen studied from the cave by Leroi-Gourhan, only three samples connected with Neanderthal remains included clumps of pollen, which has to be explained or established. According to the researchers, it is impossible to totally rule out the potential of alternative processes, such as small mammals or Neanderthal activity.
There may yet be more funerary mystery in the cave, as evidenced by the unexplained wood bits recovered in the grave dirt of Shanidar Z, a more recent Neanderthal skeleton that greatly overlaps the Shanidar 4 site.
Going back to the start
In contrast to earlier ideas of Neanderthals as primitive, less developed, or even savage beings, Solecki's original conclusions, as outlined in his hypothesis, proposed a scenario where Neanderthals displayed complex behavior related to the care of their dead, such as burial and funerary offerings.
Subsequent academics have contested and investigated his initial findings, frequently asking if the bodies were intentionally placed and buried. The burial theory continues to hold up in the face of numerous competing theories and criticisms over the years as more proof of intentional burial is uncovered.
In Shanidar Cave, notably Shanidar 1, Neanderthal bones have also been discovered. These remains show signs of having presumably received lifetime care. Male Neanderthal Shanidar 1 suffered a serious head wound that may have rendered him blind in his left eye and partially paralyzed his right arm and leg.
Previous studies have hypothesized that Shanidar 1's prolonged survival while suffering from these wounds was due to the support and care he received from other Neanderthal group members. This can be seen as proof of kindness and cooperation among Neanderthal groups.
Accepting the prospect of an intellectually advanced Neanderthal was the right move, even if the pollen found in the Shanidar cave turns out to be from bee activity.
Since the first discovery, Neanderthals have been found in various places, where they have left behind a variety of artifacts, including carved wooden throwing spears, jewelry made from eagle talons, and beads made of bone, shell, and ivory.
Furthermore, Neanderthals made fire-making kits, arranged enormous animal skulls around fire hearths, gathered decorative conches from remote beaches, distilled birch tar into a synthetic adhesive, and were endearing enough to interbreed with the progenitors of the majority of modern humans.
It is no longer considered outside the realm of Neanderthal behavioral sophistication to place a few flowers on a grave. It's possible that Solecki's open-minded "Flower Burial" idea is to blame for the paradigm shift that made it possible to evaluate several additional sites objectively and gain a deeper knowledge of our inner Neanderthal relatives.
