January
30
/ 2026
A Gravettian-era teenager buried in Italy nearly 28,000 years ago likely died after being mauled by a bear, according to a new forensic reanalysis of the famous burial known as Il Principe (“The Prince”). The study doesn’t just reaffirm a long-suspected idea, it adds claw and tooth-like marks to a broader pattern of crushing injuries, and even suggests the teen survived for a short time after the attack, hinting at care from others before death, reports Archaeology Magazine . The research team revisited the remains of the richly buried adolescent from Arene Candide Cave in Liguria, northwest Italy, using detailed surface inspection and microscopic assessment of healing. Their conclusion: an animal mauling - most plausibly a brown bear ( Ursus
