Shanidar 1 was an elderly Neanderthal male known as 'Nandy' to his excavators. He was aged between 30 and 45 years. Shanidar 1 had a cranial capacity of 1,600 cm³, was around the height of 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm), and displayed severe signs of deformity. He was one of four reasonably complete skeletons from the cave that displayed trauma-related abnormalities, which in his case would have been debilitating to the point of making day-to-day life painful.

During the individual's life, he had suffered a violent blow to the left side of his face, creating a crushing fracture to his left orbit which would have left him partially or totally blind in one eye. Research by Ján Lietava shows that the individual exhibits "atypically worn teeth". Severe changes to the individuals incisors and a flattened capitulum show additional evidence towards Shanidar 1 suffering from a degenerative disease. Additionally, analysis shows that Shanidar 1 likely suffered from profound hearing loss, as his left ear canal was partially blocked and his right ear canal was completely blocked by exostoses. He also suffered from a withered right arm which had been fractured in several places. A fracture of the individual's C5 vertebrae is thought to have caused damage to his muscle function (specifically the deltoids and biceps) of the right arm. Shanidar 1 healed, but this caused the loss of his lower arm and hand. This is thought to be either congenital, a result of childhood disease and trauma, or due to an amputation later in his life. The sharp point caused by a distal fracture of the individual's right humerus points towards this theory of amputation. If the arm was amputated, this demonstrates one of the earliest signs of surgery on a living individual. The arm had healed, but the injury may have caused some paralysis down his right side, leading to deformities in his lower legs and feet. Studies show that this individual had suffered from two broken legs. This would have resulted in him walking with a pronounced, painful limp. These findings in Shanidar 1's skeleton propose that he was unlikely to be able to provide for himself in a Neanderthal society.

More recent analysis of Shanidar 1 by Washington University Professor Erik Trinkaus and Dr. Sébastien Villotte of the French National Centre for Scientific Research confirms that bony growths in his ear canals would have resulted in extensive hearing loss. These bony growths support a diagnosis of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), also known as Forestier's disease. This diagnosis would make Shanidar 1 the oldest hominin specimen presenting this systemic condition. The researchers found these bone growths in multiple places over the partial skeleton.

As a result of the healing of his injuries, Shanidar 1 lived a substantial amount of time before his death. If the Neanderthals did perform surgery on Shanidar 1, this proves that their methods were successful in sustaining life. Considering that all the injuries were healed during this time period may lead to the reasoning that this individual was kept alive for a reason. According to paleoanthropologist Erik Trinkaus, Shanidar must have been aided by others in order to survive his injuries. Due to all of the injuries and side effects of trauma, it was very unlikely that this individual could independently provide for his family implying he may have been kept alive due to a high status within society or a repository of cultural knowledge.

This evidence has led to speculation that the Neanderthals had some sort of altruistic characteristics with the possibility of the presence of ethos within the Neanderthal community. The discovery of stone tools found in proximity to these individuals allows us to deduce that the Neanderthals exhibited enough intelligence to make everyday life easier for themselves. Maybe this knowledge surpasses basic comprehension to include characteristics such as humility and compassion which have the most known presence in Homo sapiens. These individuals may have had the capacity to show empathy to others and come to the understanding that life has meaning - causing them to want to help Shanidar 1.

Sources

The Life and Death of a Neanderthal (Shanidar 1)

Gignos Citations