Was Neanderthal life violent? This wound suggests lethal fighting was more common

Image source, University of CambridgeImage caption, A wooden spear caused the hole in this Neanderthal shoulder blade, scientists sayByPallab GhoshScience CorrespondentA Neanderthal who died 75,000 years ago may have been struck through the chest by a sharpened wooden spear, archaeologists say.They say a 15mm hole found in a shoulder blade in a cave in Iraqi Kurdistan could be the earliest evidence of lethal violence involving such a weapon.From the angle of the wound and other evidence, the researchers believe the spear entered the individual's chest and passed through the body - probably damaging a lung and major blood vessels - and exited through the left shoulder blade to leave a near-perfect hole.The research is the latest in emerging evidence that suggests Neanderthal societies experienced more violence than previously thought.Neanderthals were a separate species of humans that went extinct around 40,000 years ago. They lived across a large expanse of Europe and western and central Asia, and sometimes overlapped with our species, Homo sapiens.The wounded Neanderthal's remains were found in a cave in Iraqi Kurdistan. As well as the left shoulder blade, the individual's right h...