Shanidar Z — The 75,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Woman Whose Crushed Skull Was Rebuilt From More Than 200 Pieces
The skull shows no obvious trauma, but soft tissue causes — disease, injury to the body — leave no trace on bone.
We do not know whether she was deliberately placed in the cluster or whether her body came to rest there through other means.
The evidence is consistent with deliberate placement but cannot confirm it definitively.
We do not know whether flowers were placed with her or near her.
The pollen evidence is consistent with deliberately placed flowers.
It is also consistent with alternative explanations that do not require intentional behavior.
We do not know what her community thought or felt when she died.