Lagar Velho Rock Shelter

Abrigo do Lagar Velho

Portugal · Leiria

CaveUnknown
Approximate periodUpper Paleolithic, Gravettian See on the map ↓

In brief

The rock shelter in the Lapedo Valley is known for the child's burial discovered in 1998. Alongside the human burial, Upper Paleolithic occupation layers and stone tools have been investigated at the site.

What was found?

  • 1Skeleton of the Lapedo Child

    This is the largely preserved skeleton of a child aged approximately four to five. According to researchers, its anatomical features may bear traces of past interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans.

  • 2Traces of red ochre

    Red pigment was found on the skeleton and in the sediments surrounding the burial. These traces contribute to understanding the burial in which the child's body was carefully placed.

  • 3Quartz and quartzite chipped stone artifacts

    Cores, flakes and stone fragments that can be refitted were found in the occupation layers. These show that stones obtained from the immediate surroundings were worked in the shelter.

What does it point to?

The burial indicates that the deaths of children were also marked by special practices in the life of the hunter-gatherer community. The stone assemblage shows that nearby raw materials were used for everyday needs; direct contemporaneity between these occupation layers and the child's burial has not been established.

What did it teach us?

  1. The child's skeleton added an important anatomical example to debates about interbreeding between Neanderthal and modern human populations.
  2. Refitted stone fragments enabled investigation of stoneworking activities in the shelter and the displacement of finds.

Latest news / selected archive

Direct radiocarbon dating published in 2025 dated the Lapedo Child to approximately 27,700–28,600 years ago.

Record

Culture
Gravettian
First modern dig
1998
Coordinates
39.7554°, -8.7353°

Sources

  1. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  2. en.wikipedia.org
  3. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  4. apnews.com
  5. PLOS ONE

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