Shanidar Cave

Shanidar Cave (Kurdish: Zewî Çemî Şaneder ,ئەشکەوتی شانەدەر‎, Arabic: كَهَف شانِدَر‎) is an archaeological site located on Bradost Mountain in the Erbil Governorate of Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq. Anthropologist Ralph Solecki led a crew from Columbia University to explore the site. With the accompaniment of Kurdish workers, the group excavated the Shanidar Cave and found the remains of eight adult and two infant Neanderthals, dating from around 65,000–35,000 years ago . These individuals were uncovered amongst a Mousterian layer accompanied by various stone tools and animal remains. The cave also contains two later proto-Neolithic cemeteries, one of which dates back about 10,600 years and contains 35 individuals.The best known of the Neanderthals at the site are Shanidar 1, who survived several injuries during his life, possibly due to care from others in his group, and Shanidar 4, the famed 'flower burial'. Until this discovery, Cro-Magnons, the earliest known H. sapiens in Europe, were the only individuals known for purposeful, ritualistic burials.The site is located within the Zagros Mountains.