Il Principe burial on display at the Museum of Ligurian Archaeology, Genoa, ItalyVitale Stefano Sparacello
Posted on 02/18/2026 6:53:52 AM PST by SunkenCiv
A Paleolithic teenaged boy whose remains were discovered in northwest Italy's Ardene Candide cave in 1942 immediately earned the nickname Il Principe, or "the Prince," because of the richness of the grave goods found in his 27,500-year-old burial. Researchers noticed that he had also suffered traumatic injuries to his upper body, but at the time they were unable to establish exactly what had happened to him. According to a statement issued by the University of Montreal, an international team of researchers has finally determined that the young man was likely attacked by a bear. The team reexamined the boy's skeletal remains, which are held in Genoa's Museum of Ligurian Archaeology, and ascertained that wounds on his jawbone, collarbone, skull, upper arm, and vertebrae are consistent with a bear attack. Moreover, they found evidence that the teenager was also lame, which would have made it impossible for him to escape his assailant. There are some indications that the individual did survive the encounter and lived for another two or three days before finally succumbing to his injuries. The experts theorize that the local community was moved by the teenager's agony, which is why they afforded him such an elaborate burial. His body was laid on a bed of red ocher and surrounded by an assortment of extravagant items, including deer antler batons, perforated shells, deer teeth, mammoth ivory pendants, and flint blades. Read the original scholarly article about this research in the Journal of Anthropological Sciences. To read about bear claw marks on the decorated walls of a cave in Spain, go to "Paleo Palette."
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...
Il Principe burial on display at the Museum of Ligurian Archaeology, Genoa, ItalyVitale Stefano Sparacello
Ow.
Too bad he didn’t have a 44 magnum.
That's a unique speculation. Wouldn't it be more logical that the boy was the son of a noble or other prominent person? Especially if he was lame. I'd be surprised if a lame commoner would survive to teenage years in Paleolithic society.
Unfortunately he took the Tik Tok “poke the bear challenge”
Were you a teenager attacked by a bear during Paleolithic times? You may be entitled to compensation!
It’s hard to fight a bear when your fingers and toes have fallen off! ;)
What a way to go. Poor Kid. :(
Likely one of the leading causes of death in that era... Being eaten by bears... Wolves probably killed a lot of us too back then, but the number one cause of death was likely starvation... After we killed off enough of the other predators are food supply increased substantially. It was the true definition of that old axiom... ‘Kill or be killed’.
LOL! My favorite Polka is, ‘The Bears Still Suck’ by The Happy Schnaps Combo. ;)
“They got a reputation that’s mostly based on LUCK, yes the Bears Still SUCK!”
LOL!
Striking “travel back to the paleo era” from my bucket list due to bearophobia aka arkoudaphobia.
Making up my own words due to fear of words nobody knows what they mean.
Bears were the original practitioners of the Paleo Diet.
Or, more likely, he was beloved for some other reason. Maybe he invented or created things. Maybe he was lame because he had hurt in some sort of heroic act. Maybe he was just a nice guy.
Number one cause of death was probably the same one that stuck around until the 1950s and is still one of the main causes of death, dysentery.
😊😁😆😂
So, that's three speculations, none of which are central to the event.
Maybe he had injuries stemming from previous encounters, IOW, maybe he was played a analogous role to the canary in the mine.
Or, and this is central to the event, he just might have been hurt protecting the children of the tribe. A "no greater love" sort of thing. You get hurt protecting my cubs and I will not only honor you but you will be remembered for the next ten generations at least.
Adding to bucket list:
Travel to Paleo era and sell bear spray.
Invest the proceeds, but where?
Compound interest for 5000 years would be great, but nothing is stable that long.
Bury Precious metals.
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