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Approximate age:49,000 years old=average of minimum (0.047 Ma) and maximum (0.051 Ma)

Date based on: Radiocarbon See map of sites with similar ages

Dating reference: Vogel, J.C., Waterbolk, H.T., 1963. Groningen radiocarbon dates IV. Radiocarbon 5, 163-202

Hominids: Homo neanderthalensis       

Archaeology:Mousterian      

Important specimens: Shanidar skeleton; Pollen grains from burial once the key piece of evidence in debate of neanderthal mortuary practices; Evidence in dental calculus for plant food consumption

Notes: Numerous levels occur at the Shanidar locality. The lowest levels contain Mousterian archaeology and the neanderthal remains. More recent units contain upper Paleolithic and Neolithic artifacts.

Location: Kurdistan, Iraq
Map location/coordinates reference: Location taken from site photos. Coordinates are accurate.

Key references: Trinkaus, E. (1983). The Shanidar Neandertals.   Solecki, R. S. (1971). Shanidar: the first flower people: Knopf New York.

Solecki, R. S. (1975). Shanidar IV, a Neanderthal flower burial in northern Iraq. Science, 190, 880-881.

Trinkaus, E., & Zimmerman, M. R. (1982). Trauma among the Shanidar Neandertals. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 57(1), 61-76.

Sommer, J. D. (1999). The Shanidar IV Flower Burial: A re-evaluation of Neanderthal burial ritual. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 9(01), 127-129.

Henry, A. G., Brooks, A. S., & Piperno, D. R. (2010). Microfossils in calculus demonstrate consumption of plants and cooked foods in Neanderthal diets (Shanidar III, Iraq; Spy I and II, Belgium). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.