Neanderthals: Violent and compassionate

A recent Neanderthal skull, found in what is now France, shows that Neanderthals exhibited physical violence towards each other, as well as caring and compassion.

A team of Swiss and French scientists, led by Christoph Zollikofer of the University of Zurich-Irchel found the skull near the village of St. Cesaire, France, and is now using computer imaging to help reconstruct the skull.

Neanderthals flourished on the earth approximately 100,000 years ago.

They lived in Europe and the Middle East until about 35,000 years ago, when they were replaced by early modern humans.

While many of the remains found show injuries, these fractures differ significantly from the skull found. The skull was cut by a sharp blade, possibly a handle.

"As weaponry for hunting improves, the stakes of having an argument with somebody increase. Like all social mammals, Neanderthals had their squabbles, and if you have effective weaponry around, you've got a more serious problem," according to anthropologist Erik Trinkaus of Washington University in St. Louis.

The team speculates that the injury is the result of a conflict with someone in his own group.

Milford Wolpoff, an anthropologist at the University of Michigan explained, "When you look at crime statistics today, the vast majority of all crimes are between people who know each other... and I don't see any reason to question that in the past."

Startlingly, it seems as if the wound had begun to heal. This suggests that the injured was being helped or nursed, at least while he was incapacitated by the blow.

According to Trinkaus, "There are two themes that come out of this. When they are injured by somebody else or an animal or accident, they are getting helped by other members of the social group. We see clear survival here."

Wolpoff pointed out, "We always focus on the violence that created the wound, but what's great is the compassion and care that lead to the healing."

The team's findings, published in the most recent issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the due to the location and angle of the cut, the Neanderthal was likely attacked from the front or behind.