Scientists find that Neanderthals also suffered from cancer

A discovery by researchers at the University of Kansas has proven that cancer - this bloody disease - has been with us for much longer than previously thought. The team found evidence of a benign tumor called fibrous dysplasia in a 120, 000-year-old bone fragment. This discovery predates the oldest traces of cancer found so far in over 100, 000 years.

According to National Geographic, the tumor was discovered in a rib found on a Croatian archaeological site, and demonstrates that Neanderthals, despite living in a very different environment from ours - free from pollution, pesticides, preservatives, cigarettes and others. little things - they were also susceptible to the same ills that afflict humans today.

Smoke Signals

The tumor was discovered through analyzes performed with a microtomograph capable of processing an image in different frames. Thus, the equipment “sliced” the bone fragment - about 3 centimeters long - into 500 frames, allowing researchers to scrutinize every possible micron of the sample.

However, one of the researchers responsible for the discovery explained that Neanderthals probably slept in caves in the presence of lighted bonfires, inhaling a fair amount of smoke. Thus, although they were not smoking cigarettes, the air these ancient peoples breathed was not completely free of pollutants.