Roughly 100,000 Years Ago, This Man Got Stabbed in the Face—and Survived. He’s Likely One of the First Known Victims of an Attack With a Sharp Weapon

Researchers who investigated the remains of a young adult male found in the Qafzeh cave say the injury healed over time, which means the victim’s community may have tended to him

Sarah Kuta | Daily Correspondent

July 10, 2026 9:53 a.m.

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In 1933, French archaeologist René Neuville discovered a cave in Israel that contained the 100,000-year-old remains of several individuals, as well as pieces of red ochre perhaps used in a ritual. The site, known as Qafzeh, has fascinated researchers ever since, since they suspect it represents the oldest-known intentional burial on the planet.

Now, scientists have discovered that one of the early humans buried at the site was stabbed in the face with a sharp stone tool, probably the result of interpersonal violence. The injury, described in a paper published June 30 in the journal Scientific Reports, likely wasn’t fatal, however.

Scientists have discovered the remains of at least 27 Homo sapiens buried at Qafzeh. The bones date to between 92,000 and 145,000 years ago, making these individuals some of the earliest modern humans outside of Africa. However, as Guy Gugliotta wrote for Smithsonian magazine in 2008, these Homo sapiens may not have been the vanguard of the eventual significant migration to other continents: “there is no evidence that these moderns survived for long, much less went on to colonize any other parts of the globe.”

For the new study, researchers focused on an individual known as Qafzeh 25, whose partial skeleton was unearthed in 1979. Now housed in the anthropological collection of the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research at Tel Aviv University, Qafzeh 25 appears to have been male, and a young adult at the time of his death. He was found buried next to several children.

Researchers found numerous fractures in Qafzeh 25’s bones that likely formed after his death, including many that were probably caused by crushing and compression beneath layers of sediment over tens of thousands of years. However, when they took a closer look at the individual’s jaw, they found a deep, linear mark that appears to have been made while he was still alive. The cut appears to have sliced through the left side of the man’s face, affecting one of his teeth.

They also found evidence that the wound had healed, suggesting the individual survived for a “significant period” afterward, the researchers write in the paper. The gash didn’t become infected, likely because the cut wasn’t deep enough to reach the tooth’s pulp chamber, they add.

“This evidence supports the notion of resilience and possible care within the community,” they write.

The gash appears to have been made by some sort of a sharp object. The injury might have been an accident, but researchers think interpersonal violence is the most likely explanation. Most injuries to the head, face and neck occur on the left side of the skull, because most humans are right-handed and tend to use their dominant hand in face-to-face confrontations, the researchers write.

Whatever the cause, the gash is one of just a handful of known Middle Paleolithic injuries caused by sharp objects, making it exceptionally rare. Qafzeh 25, the researchers write in the paper, is likely the “earliest documented case of sharp force trauma in the archaeological record.”

Their investigation also revealed that the man had cavities and chipped tooth enamel. That wasn’t a surprise, given that cavities have already been found in several other individuals buried at the site. However, researchers remain puzzled by this population’s unusually high rate of cavities compared to other Pleistocene human groups, including Neanderthals. Some 40 percent of the individuals buried at Qafzeh had cavities, which suggests their genetics, diet or environment—or some combination of all three—might have hurt their oral health.

Additionally, based on their investigation, the researchers think Qafzeh 25 was deliberately buried, because they didn’t find any evidence of scavenging, weathering or trampling on the body. This finding supports the idea that the cave may contain some of the world’s oldest intentional human burials.

Together, the findings “provide new evidence in the ongoing debate about the origins of complex behaviors such as interpersonal violence, the care of injured or ill individuals and funerary practices—fundamental aspects for understanding the social and cultural evolution of our species,” says lead author Ana Pantoja Pérez, a paleoanthropologist for Spain’s National Research Center on Human Evolution, in a statement.

Beyond Qafzeh 25’s injury, the cave has yielded a wealth of other important discoveries over the years that have reshaped scientists’ understanding of early humans. For instance, scientists found naturally perforated shells that were probably strung together and worn as jewelry—and might hint at the invention of string. Inside the cave, researchers also found stone artifacts that appear to have been deliberately engraved with geometric patterns, suggesting our ancient ancestors were capable of advanced cognitive and symbolic behaviors.

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Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.