An Introduction to Neanderthal Burials

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Introduction to our Research

The presence of culture in Neanderthal groups is a topic continuously debated today. This case study explores whether Neanderthal burials existed or not, through evidence suggestive of either intentional or unintentional internment of the dead. Further, we have focused on the potential association between intentional burials and aspects of Neanderthal culture that this may imply. Burial and funerary practices, if intentional in even limited Neanderthal groups, would represent the earliest evidence of hominid practices focusing on the dead.

Skeleton found at Regourdou

http://journalofcosmology.com/Consciousness155.html

We looked at a number of sites with Neanderthal remains in search for evidence of intentionality including the Shanidar cave in Northern Iraq, La Moustier, La Ferrassie and Regourdou in France and Teshik-Tash in Uzbekistan. All of these remains are from during the Pleistocene period (2,588,000 - 11,700 years ago) when Neanderthals are thought to have lived. While there are nondescript cultural and ethnic groups known within the Neanderthals, similarities, patterns, and variations have been explored through each site researched.

Research Questions

1) Potential Neanderthal effort put into the ‘burials’ will be examined. Could the burials examined have occurred naturally, or would they have required hominid intervention? Is this intervention suggestive of meaning associated with the buried individual?

2) The perceived importance or rarity of flowers will be explored. Were the flowers found in the Shanidar burial not local plants, brought there intentionally? Or could evidence of plant remains have accumulated through natural processes over time? Are flowers found in any other suspected Neanderthal burials?

3) Recurring themes across space and time in Neanderthal burials will be researched. Do these have cultural implications?

Check out this short video on our topic!

Given that Neanderthals are extinct, have been so for thousands of years, and have no connections to contemporary groups, there are few ethical issues of concern for this research. Research and findings will avoid bias, and we will be conscious to respect the work of others which we will access for our case study.