Scientists have discovered a tumor in a bone from the rib cage of a Neanderthal found in Croatia.  According to Medical News Today, the Neanderthal bones were excavated between 1899 and 1905.  During that time, about 900 Neanderthal bones were taken from a cave in Croatia.  In the 1980s, researchers x-rayed all of the bones and published them in a book.  However, the rib containing the tumor had an x-ray image that appeared burnt out, leaving scientists to overlook the tumor until now.

This discovery marks the oldest tumor found, by nearly 100,000 years.  Prior to this finding, the oldest tumor was found in an Egyptian mummy.  The New York Times explains that the Egyptian body was found in a Scythian burial mound containing two skeletons dressed in royal attire.  The man had tumors throughout his body and paleopathologists, who study ancient disease, diagnosed him as having prostate cancer that metastasized.

The tumor found in the Neanderthal rib is fibrous dysplasia.  The Mayo Clinic describes fibrous dysplasia as a bone disorder in which scar-like or fibrous tissue replaces the normal bone.  As this benign tumor expands, the individual is likely to suffer from bone pain and will be more susceptible to fractures and deformities.

The identification of any ancient tumor is a big discovery because of the presumption that tumors are a “modern” disease that are rare or almost non-existent in ancient civilizations.  The American Cancer Society identifies the oldest mention of cancer dating back to 3000 B.C.  An ancient Egyptian medical textbook describes what seem to be tumors of the breast that were treated with cauterization.

Some argue that cancer was rare during ancient times because the behaviors and environment that lead to the development of cancers, such as tobacco use and pollution, were limited in ancient societies.  Others contend that it is too difficult to estimate the prevalence of cancer in these early communities because of a lack of evidence.  Tumors can cause bones to crumble, destroying proof that cancer existed.

Discovery of a tumor dating back to the Neanderthals continues to challenge the assumption that cancer was rare.  Popular Archaeology states that this shows evidence of neoplastic disease.  This discovery will develop knowledge about the origins and nature of this disease category, as well as support the contention that modern human evolved from Neanderthals.  Homo sapiens have inherited some of the DNA of Neanderthals, including those diseases that cause abnormal tissue growth and tumors.