America: Neanderthal Woman 'Shanadar Z' gives new insight into what our ancient cousins looked like
ARK News… The US Consulate General in Erbil confirmed that the discovery of the skull of a Neanderthal woman, “Shanadar Z,” in the Kurdistan Region gives a new look at what it described as our ancient “cousins.”
The American Consulate in Erbil said on its official page on the social networking site (Facebook): ((This is “Shanadar Z”, a 75,000-year-old Neanderthal woman whose skull was found in Shandar Cave in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq six years ago)).
The consulate added: “Archaeologists at the University of Cambridge have reconstructed her face, giving a new look at what our ancient cousins may have looked like.”
The historic Shanadar Cave is considered one of the largest and oldest caves in Iraq, as it dates back to about 60,000 years BC, that is, to the Paleolithic Age. It is one of the oldest human settlements, and humans known as Neanderthals lived in it a hundred thousand years ago.
Shanadar Cave is characterized by its triangular shape, with a height of 18 meters and a width of 27 meters. It extends across the mountain at a depth of 40 meters, expanding internally to reach 60 meters.
A team from Columbia University, led by American archaeologist Ralph Sulke, conducted excavations in Shanadar Cave for the first time in 1957, found Neanderthal skeletons dating back about 65,000 years, and discovered four accumulated archaeological layers dating back to the Paleolithic times.
Shanadar Cave is one of the tourist sites in the Kurdistan Region. It is located at the foot of Mount Bradost within the borders of the Mirga Sor district (the far northeastern part of the city of Erbil and 145 km from the city center), and is located at an altitude of 2,200 feet above sea level.
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