Shanidar Z — The 75,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Woman Whose Crushed Skull Was Rebuilt From More Than 200 Pieces
The pollen concentrations could have arrived through burrowing animals.
The Persian jird — a rodent common in the cave — was known to cache seeds and plant material.
Wind-blown pollen from the cave entrance could have accumulated near the burial without having been deliberately placed.
The plant species represented were common in the region and might not indicate any special selection.
The debate became a paradigm case in paleoanthropology: a dispute about how to interpret ambiguous evidence, and about what standard of proof was required before claiming that Neanderthals engaged in ritual or symbolic practices.
For sixty years, the question remained unresolved.
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