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Meeting your ancestors; New Evidence Suggest Human Ancestor Buried Dead with Flowers Neanderthals may have buried and honored their dead, a new study suggests. The early human ancestors may have even used flowers in burials. Scientists recently announced their discovery in the publication Antiquity. The scientists found the bones of an adult in Shanidar Cave, in the Kurdistan area of northern Iraq. The Neanderthal, called Shanidar Z, is believed to have lived up to 70,000 years ago. The individual was possibly in his or her 40s or 50s. Scientists do not yet know the sex of the individual. ; The cave where the bones were found is already famous in archaeology. In 1960, archaeologist Ralph Solecki discovered the remains of 10 Neanderthals — seven adults and three children. At the time, small amounts of flower pollen were found in soil around the remains. The discovery led Solecki to propose that Neanderthals buried their dead and even had funeral ceremonies with flowers. Critics later doubted the flower burial explanation. They argued that the pollen could have been modern contamination from people, animals or insects. Shanidar Zs bones were found in soil containing ancient pollen and plant remains, suggesting the possibility of flower burials. Scientists are now;further examining the materials. Scholars have argued for years about whether Neanderthals buried their dead with funeral ceremonies. Shanidar Z appears to have been placed in an area cut into the soil. The area has a group of four individuals. Neanderthals were more strongly built than modern humans, or Homo sapiens. They lived in Eurasia from about 400,000 years ago until around 40,000 years ago. They then disappeared after modern humans became established. Modern non-African human populations are believed to carry small amounts of Neanderthal genetic material known as DNA. ;