Alumnus Unearths Neanderthal Past

Professor Graeme Barker CBE FBA FSA FRGS (Cribb's 1965) was Director of the excavations which unearthed one of the most important Neanderthal discoveries in a generation. 

The landmark discovery of the best-preserved Neanderthal skeleton uncovered in more than 25 years completely changes our understanding of our long-lost evolutionary cousins and is now the focus of a new Netflix documentary, Secrets of the Neanderthals which received millions of views in the first week of its release and has been featured on BBC News and New Scientist, amongst widespread coverage. 

Graeme, who is Disney Professor of Archaeology Emeritus and Senior Fellow, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, led a team of archaeologists from the University of Cambridge and Liverpool John Moores University as they teamed up with their Kurdish colleagues to excavate the iconic Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan for the first time since 1960. The team made a startling discovery of a new Neanderthal skeleton, Shanidar Z. Her remains are thought to date back 75,000 years. 

When the skeleton was found, its skull had been almost completely flattened and took more than a year to painstakingly piece back together in 3D form. It was then surface scanned so an anatomically faithful representation could be made. 

What the scientists have learnt from Shanidar Z, including what appears to be a kind of burial practice, shatters our previous understanding and preconceptions of Neanderthals. It pushes us to reflect on what it means to be human and how we deal with death and might show us some of the first signs of spiritual evolution and religion.  

Talking about the discovery and reconstruction of Shanidar Z, Graeme said: 

"The skull was as flat as a pizza, basically. It's a remarkable journey to go from that to what you see now. As an archaeologist, you can sometimes get blasé about what you're doing. But every now and then you are brought up short by the fact you are touching the past. We forget just what an extraordinary thing it is."  

He continued: 

“When you think what's gone in the world in that time period - Neanderthals have disappeared, modern humans have colonised the world for good or ill, agriculture, cities, urbanism, European colonialism, the awfulness of the 20th century. Throughout all these events here she sat as flat as a pancake under a great mass of rocks and we come along, against all odds, and find it. It's certainly a generational find.” 

Congratulations Graeme on this truly incredible landmark discovery! 

Photo of Shanidar Z model credit: BBC Studios/Jamie Simonds

Photo of Graeme Barker credit: Netflix