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Stone Age Burial Study Indicates Teenager Died After Bear Attack
New research has clarified the cause of death of a Stone Age adolescent buried about 28,000 years ago in northern Italy. The young individual, interred with exceptional care in a cave burial, is now believed to have died following a bear attack, according to a recent skeletal reanalysis.
The burial, discovered in 1942 in Arene Candide cave in Liguria, contained a teenager laid on a bed of red ocher, wearing an elaborate headdress made of perforated shells and deer teeth. Grave goods also included ivory pendants and a flint blade originating from southern France, indicating long-distance connections and the importance of the burial.
Modern examination of the bones using magnification, detailed photography, and 3D surface modeling identified severe trauma to the shoulder, face, skull, and ankle that occurred around the time of death. Specific marks match injuries consistent with claws and teeth of a large carnivore. The injury pattern aligns most closely with an attack by a brown bear or the extinct cave bear, both known from Late Pleistocene Italy.
Microscopic signs of healing show the adolescent survived for a short period—possibly up to several days—after the encounter. The absence of damage to major blood vessels may have prolonged survival, while death likely resulted from internal injuries or complications.
The careful and richly furnished burial suggests the community responded to the event with formal ritual practices. Researchers note that such treatment may reflect the social and emotional impact of a traumatic death within a small hunter-gatherer group.
The individual, estimated to have been between 14 and 17 years old, represents the oldest known burial from the cave. Further scientific studies may provide additional insights, though any future testing must balance research value with preservation of the remains.
Published on: 29-01-2026
Edited by: Abdulmnam Samakie
Source: Live Science