I returned to the cave in ‘53
And took along some TNT
I brought a dig team with me
From Columbia University
Took the large mouth from below
We all walked in very slow
Pulled up huge rocks in tow
Split the earth in one big blow
Up came a skull and bone
And some tools made of stone
The burial ground was left alone
For millennia remained unknown
Oh, Shanidar
1-2-4
Shanidar
Can you teach us who you are?
Oh, Shanidar
3-5-Z
Shanidar
Can you tell we’ve come so far?
In the mountains of Kurdistan
They were members of a clan
And part of early modern man
Crossed the north Eurasian span
Some say they were displaced
Brutes who were basically chased
From their homes and disgraced
I knew that’s not what they faced
They had language, complex activity
Were well-adapted to harsh reality
Climate changed, they left the vicinity
And became part of you and me
Oh, Shanidar
1-2-4
Shanidar
Can you show us who we are?
Oh, Shanidar
3-5-Z
Shanidar
Can we share it near and far?
May 30, 2024
Tribute to American archeologist Ralph Solecki (October 15, 1917–March 20, 2019) who discovered a Neanderthal site in 1953 at Shanidar Cave in the Kurdish region of Iraq.
MULTIMEDIAMAN 