Of all the skeletons found at the cave, it is Shanidar IV which provides the best evidence for Neanderthal burial ritual. The skeleton of an adult male aged between 30-45 years was discovered in 1960 by Ralph Solecki and was positioned so that he was lying on his left side in a partial foetal position.
Routine soil samples which were gathered for pollen analysis in an attempt to reconstruct the palaeoclimate and vegetational history of the site from around the body were analysed eight years after its discovery. In two of the soil samples in particular, whole clumps of pollen were discovered in addition to the usual pollen found throughout the site and suggested that entire flowering plants (or at least heads of plants) had entered the grave deposit.
Furthermore, a study of the particular flower types suggested that the flowers may have been chosen for their specific medicinal properties. Yarrow, Cornflower, Bachelor’s Button, St. Barnaby’s Thistle, Ragwort or Groundsel, Grape Hyacinth, Joint Pine or Woody Horsetail and Hollyhock were represented in the pollen samples, all of which have long-known curative powers as diuretics, stimulants, astringents as well as anti-inflammatory properties.
This led to the idea that the man could possibly have had shamanic powers, perhaps acting as medicine man to the Shanidar Neandertals. However, recent work into the flower burial has suggested that perhaps the pollen was introduced to the burial by animal action as several burrows of a gerbil-like rodent known as a Persian jird were found nearby.
The jird is known to store large numbers of seeds and flowers at certain points in their burrows and this argument was used in conjunction with the lack of ritual treatment of the rest of the skeletons in the cave to suggest that the Shanidar IV burial had natural, not cultural origins.
The sub-article on Shanidar 1 is interesting too form this perspective on possible early spiritual founding within the human psyche.
This guy was old for a Neanderthal and had sustained quite a few injuries that most likely would have done him in were it not for aid and assistance he got form his group.
...this has been used to infer that Neanderthals looked after their sick and aged, denoting implicit group concern.
Add this to Shanidar 2 who was evidently given quite a send-off by his group which involved his "mourners" evidently getting somewhat drunk at his "funeral".
This type of attention says a little more to me than good comradeship. All these things taken together point to an "expectation" of something beyond this life "reinforced" by how they treated each other, outside of certainly any written or even societal code to be "enforced" within it.
Why would they have done it beyond even "friendship" which otherwise would have seemed to come to an end with their deaths but for that "something" which would seem to give "continued" coherence to "the group"?
Given this sense makes me suspect that that the flowers were actually placed there for Shanidar 4 and not a result of rodent activity later on.
When did humans really sense the "neshama" within themselves?
Very interesting indeed.
Thanks again, and Best to You And Yours.
There are certain constants through out history, we love our parents and older relatives, women want to look smokin' and provocative when they are young (Gene advertisement),and men do the heavy lifting and get no credit (Gene Advertisement).