Scientists discover Neanderthal skeleton that hints at flower burial

The fossils found in Iraqi cave provide fresh evidence the species buried their death with mortuary rituals

A Neanderthal skeleton unearthed in an Iraqi cave, already famous for fossils of these cousins of our species, is providing fresh evidence that they buried their dead - and intriguing clues that flowers may have been used in such rituals.

Scientists said they had discovered the well-preserved upper body skeleton of an adult Neanderthal, who lived about 70,000 years ago, in Shanidar Cave in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq on Tuesday. The individual - dubbed Shanidar Z - was perhaps in his or her 40s or 50s with their sex undetermined.