Rediscovering Neanderthals: The Story of Shanidar Z

Buried in a remote cave in Iraq, one ancient skeleton is rewriting history.
Shanidar Z, a Neanderthal woman who lived over 70,000 years ago, was found carefully laid to rest—her bones revealing both a traumatic injury and an extraordinary recovery. Could it be that her survival was thanks to the compassion of her own people?
Her story challenges everything we thought we knew about Neanderthals—revealing a world of care, community, and complexity far beyond the “brutish” image we've long believed.