The 4,000-year-old mystery of a shepherd’s arrow to the back

Grisly, 4,000-year-old forensic evidence found in a cave in the Pyrenees Mountains hints at a serious disagreement between members of the region’s first shepherds. According to archaeologists at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (CERCA) and Spain’s Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, a flint arrowhead embedded in a human rib bone at the prehistoric tomb indicates a case of foul play. But despite the severe injury, additional signs reveal the wound wasn’t necessarily fatal– at least not immediately.

Archaeologists uncovered the rib and its accompanying arrowhead at the Roc de les Orenetes archaeological site. Located 79 miles north of Barcelona at an altitude of over 5,900 feet, Roc de les Orenetes was first discovered in the late 1960s. Researchers have spent the last six years combing through the remarkable trove of ancient skeletal remains in the mountains of Catalan. So far, the project has yielded more than 6,000 bone fragments from over 60 individuals, primarily adult men. However, the grave site wasn’t used by just one or two generations. Instead, local herders interred their deceased in the cave over two or three centuries.

Previous bone analysis showed the Pyrenean community was well adapted to their environment, with strong skeletal structures, noticeable muscular insertions, and evidence of strenuous physical activity. Experts believe these signs are all indicative of a culture tied to grazing and high-altitude resource cultivation. 

But as CERCA explained, additional examinations of the bones also highlighted significant trauma, including cut marks from axes and daggers and intentional fractures. The nearby arrowheads further suggests evidence of altercations, but there is still a possibility that community members simply buried the items with the deceased during funereal rites.

Their most recent find all-but-dispells the more optimistic funeral theory. According to the team, excavators have located a flint arrowhead identical to the others in Roc de les Orenetes, this time, embedded in a rib fragment. Although the entry angle shows that the victim was shot through the back, it appears they survived the assault— at least for a little bit.

“Considering the position and trajectory of the arrow, it could have killed the person at two moments: either at the moment of impact, due to bleeding or lung damage (for example, a pneumothorax), or shortly afterward, due to infection,” excavation director Carlos Tornero said in a statement.

Tornero added that if the shot was clean and the victim managed to fight off any ensuing infections, it’s possible they survived the encounter entirely. Given that the bone regenerated around the arrowhead, the latter outcome seems even more plausible. Tornero and colleagues plan to conduct more analyses of their find to potentially confirm the individual’s cause of death, as well as learn more about the attack itself.

“Now we can study the force of the impact, the type of weapon used, and the position of the attacker and the victim,” added collaborator Miguel Ángel Moreno.

Combined with ongoing excavations and lab work, archaeologists like Tornero and Moreno hope to better contextualize how the southern European communities in the third millennium BCE lived with one another. And as their new discovery graphically shows, how they sometimes fought.

 

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