Shanidar Cave

Shanidar Cave (Kurdish: ئەشکەوتی شانەدەر, romanized: Eşkewtî Şaneder, Arabic: كَهَف شانِدَر) is an archaeological site on Bradost Mountain, within the Zagros Mountains in the Erbil Governorate of Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq. Neanderthal remains were discovered here in 1953, including Shanidar 1, who survived several injuries, possibly due to care from others in his group, and Shanidar 4, the famed supposed 'flower burial', where pollen has been suggested to be the remnants of deliberately placed flowers. Until this discovery, Cro-Magnons, the earliest known H. sapiens in Europe, were the only individuals known for purposeful, ritualistic burials. However, this has been questioned, with it being suggested that the pollen over the burial may be the result of natural processes such as bee accumulation.