A Neanderthal survived a severe facial injury for at least a year before dying 75,000 years ago; a 15mm shoulder-blade hole may be the earliest evidence of lethal violence with a wooden spear

• The Neanderthal’s left shoulder blade had a circular hole about 15mm wide.
• (University of Cambridge photo)A Neanderthal who lived around 75,000 years ago survived a serious facial injury for at least a year before suffering what researchers believe was a fatal spear wound.
• The discovery, made at Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan, could provide some of the earliest evidence of a deadly attack involving a wooden spear in human evolutionary history.