90,000-Year-Old Human Jaw Shows Evidence of Violence

A new study published in *Scientific Reports* sheds light on violence, medical care, and burial practices in the Middle Paleolithic. Researchers from the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) and Tel Aviv University examined Qafzeh 25, a fossilized human from Qafzeh Cave in Israel, dated to between 92,000 and 145,000 years ago. The analysis focused on trauma patterns, healing signs, and contextual evidence to infer social responses to injury and death.

The team identified multiple fractures and healed wounds on the skeleton, suggesting that the individual survived several injuries and received some form of care. Additionally, the burial context—marked by intentional placement and associated grave goods—indicates ritualized funerary behavior. These findings provide the first direct evidence of organized care for the sick or wounded and of complex mortuary practices among early modern humans in the Levant.

The study highlights how detailed osteological and contextual data can reconstruct aspects of daily life and social organization in prehistoric populations. By combining forensic analysis with archaeological context, the researchers offer a clearer picture of how early humans dealt with violence, illness, and death, paving the way for further investigations into the evolution of caregiving and ritual in human societies.