A new study has revealed that the death of the Younger “Prince” of the Arene Candideone of the best known burials of thePrehistoric Italymay have been caused by the attack of a brown bear. There researchpublished on Journal of Anthropological Sciencefocused on the study of trauma on the bones, suggesting the plausible correlation: these are the remains of an individual teenager (it is not possible to establish the sex with certainty), died between 14 and 16 years of age and buried by his loved ones in a cave in the province of Savona (Liguria) with a exceptional kitamong the most astonishing in the panorama of Upper Paleolithic (50,000-10,000 years ago) in Italy.
The burial of the “Prince” of the Arene Candide was discovered during the excavation campaign in the cave carried out in 1942 from Luigi Cardini And Luigi Bernabò Breafathers of prehistoric and protohistoric archeology in Italy. He was nicknamed the “Prince” because ofexceptional nature of his kitcomposed of a headdress made with hundreds of perforated shells and deer canines, pendants in ivory, ocher, four thrusters in perforated deer antler (a tool used in prehistory to give more strength when throwing a spear) and a large flint blade, held in the right hand. The burial dates back to approximately 28,000 years ago. Already in 1942 it was realized that the bones presented a series of traumabut these were not the subject of subsequent studies, although it was hypothesized that they were caused by a hunting accident.
A research group led by prof. Vitale Sparacello of theUniversity of Cagliaridealt for the first time with an in-depth analysis of the skeletal trauma present on the remains of the “Prince”. The lesions were analyzed with modern techniques, which also made it possible to identify new ones, trying to reconstruct them possible dynamics of death. Particularly evident (noticed already in 1942) are the lesions to the cervical vertebrae, the mandible (a part of it is even missing) and the left humerus, scapula and clavicle. In addition to these, the new analyzes highlighted the presence of a scratch on the left parietal bone of the skull and a deep puncture on the right fibula. All these serious traumas were found to be perimortalor occurred in the circumstances of death.
Comparing the patterns of the fatal wounds present on the remains of the “Prince”, these appear to be compatible with attack by a large carnivorelike a brown bear (Ursus arctos), a cave bear (Ursus spelaeus), a leopard (Panthera pardus), or a cave lion (Panthera spelaea). The lesion on the left parietal appears to have been caused by a clawwhile the wound on the right fibula from a bite. Bear attacks in particular are well known in the medical literature, and the concentration of wounds in the upper part of the body (humerus, scapula, clavicle and jaw), typical of this kind of attacks, caused by bites or claws, seems to be seen precisely in a bear The main suspect for the teenager’s death.
After the attack, surprisingly, the individual survived for another two or three days before dying. In fact, the wounds show traces of regeneration of bone tissuea clue that tells us that the “Prince” did not die immediately. Death occurred later, probably due to internal hemorrhage, secondary brain damage, or multiple organ failure. Perhaps the reason why the teenager was buried with such a grave goods is to be found precisely in the traumatic and exceptional circumstances of the individual’s death. particular.
There wealth of burial, as often happened in the Upper Paleolithic, it was not linked to a hierarchization of societywith individuals less or more important than others, still non-existent, but ratherexceptionality of the individual or the circumstances of the death and theeffect that this had in the reference social group. One could easily postulate that such a bloody and painful death of such a young individual may have required a response from the group to which he belonged. particular funerary ritual and exceptional. To strengthen this theory, there is also the fact that theyellow ocherused for symbolic purposes in many Paleolithic burials, was found in association with serious injury to the jawwhich certainly severely disfigured the teenager. The grave goods and the funerary ritual itself may have been the manner of the group to which the “Prince” of exorcise pain and mourning.
