Shanidar 2 was a Neanderthal male around the age of 30 who suffered from slight arthritis, found lying on his right side. It is estimated that Shanidar 2 was 5 feet 2 inches (157 cm) in stature which places him just below the average height of a male Neanderthal. He was killed by rocks falling from the cave's ceiling, which crushed his skull and bones significantly. The skull had been compressed by about 5–6 cm (2.0–2.4 in). Much of his bones were missing when discovered, and the left tibia had teeth marks. Scavengers likely disposed of parts of his remains. There is evidence that Shanidar 2 was given a ritual send-off: a small pile of stones with some worked stone points (made out of chert) was found on top of his grave. Also, there had been a large fire by the burial site.

Shanidar 2 had a "higher cranial vault", and other skull proportions that did not quite match up to the average Neanderthal skull. This may prove that the Neanderthals of Shanidar had more of a "morphology of anatomically modern humans" than other Neanderthals, or that the group was very diverse. This points to similarities between the two species, Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, but it doesn't show any inherited "relationships within that species".