Shanidar, the First Flower People

by Ralph Solecki

As described, "The exploration of Shanidar Cave in Iraq has resulted in one of the most significant archaeolgical finds of recenet years-the first archaeological traces of human nature. Shanidar Cacve... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394445112
• ISBN13: 9780394445113
• Release Date: January 1971
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Heart-warming findings

An old TV show triggered me to find this out-of-print book. The author, a leader of the series of expeditions, covers not just findings but all about expedition as well as local cultures which gave me a totally different view about the local people. A local man worker comes to the expedition site with flowers in their belt, or decorate a tool with a small bouquet of flower. In the area, men becomes rebellion fighters because of their pride and passion about their culture, yet possess such gentle flower-loving mind described as "incongruous". Finding of the expeditions which became the title of the book, that certain burial with flowers inside a cave where flower does not bloom. One of them was an arm cut off, one was blind, and those fact indicates Neanderthals living in the cave were caring enough to pick and bring flowers from outside the cave for the dead in such long time ago. The author couldn't finish the excavation as the political situation became threathening their presence at the site, which makes me wish the author could finish the excavation to bring out more facts. However, I thought this was heart-warming finding of Neanderthals as well as the present people. Neanderthals who dwelled in the cave long time ago showed their caring by flowers, and such gentle mind passed onto the present time by seeing the local men worker excavating Neanderthal also shows up with flowers with them.