Lagar Velho is a rock-shelter in the Lapedo valley, a limestone canyon 13 km from the centre of Leiria, in the municipality of Leiria, in central

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. The site is known for the discovery of a 24,000-year-old Cro-Magnon child, later referred to as the '' Lapedo child''.

History

In archaeological terms, the site is known to integrate a stratigraphic sequence representative of much of the

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

human occupations of the region (between about 30,000 and 20,000 years), gathering at various levels respective traces and carved lithic remnants, associated with coeval faunal elements. The site consists of deposits within horizontal fissures, at the base of a limestone cliff, located on the south flank of the Lapedo Valley near Leiria, in the central western region of Portugal. The site was initially damaged by earth removal in 1992, that exposed an Upper Paleolithic sequence, that came within centimeters of the burial. On 28 November 1998, the site was discovered by archaeologists, who also found the left hand and forearm of a child found in a burrow. In the following weeks others confirmed the presence of Paleolithic deposits and the human burial, and excavation ensued between 12 December 1998 and 7 January (with pathological analysis beginning on 4 January 1999). The discovery of an early

human burial site in the valley provided evidence of early modern humans in southern

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

. The remains, the largely complete skeleton of an approximately 4-year-old child, was buried with a pierced shell and red ochre (dated to circa 24,500 years B.P.). The cranium, mandible, dentition, and postcrania appear to present a mosaic of European early

modern human Early modern human (EMH) or anatomically modern human (AMH) are terms used to distinguish ''Homo sapiens'' (the only extant Hominina species) that are anatomically consistent with the range of phenotypes seen in contemporary humans from extin ...

and

Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While the ...

features, although this interpretation is disputed.''Chunky Gravettian child''; Ian Tattersall and Jeffrey H. Schwartz
/ref> If the child was indeed a hybrid of anatomically modern humans and ''

Homo neanderthalensis Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While the ...

'', there could be significant implications regarding the

Neanderthal interaction with Cro-Magnons Neanderthals became extinct around 40,000 years ago. This timing, based on research published in ''Nature'' in 2014, is much earlier than previous estimates, and derives from improved radiocarbon dating methods analyzing 40 sites from Spain to ...

and the taxonomical classification of these (possibly sub-) species. In addition to the burial context, recent archaeological campaigns have uncovered various levels of a Gravettian habitat, identifying an excellent state of preservation and original spatial organization. It is anticipated that archaeological museum, to be constructed in the Convent of Santo Agostinho ( pt, Convento de Santo Agostinho), in the city of Leiria, will house the skeletal remains.

Geography

Situated between the civil parishes of Caranguejeira and Santa Eufémia, the Valley of Lapedo ( pt, Vale do Lapedo) is formed by the waters of the Ribeira de Caranguejeira. It is an area of natural diversity of flora and fauna, that includes Carrion Crows (''Corvus corone''), eagles and field rats, in addition to Black, European or Common Alder (''

Alnus glutinosa ''Alnus glutinosa'', the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations wh ...

''),

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

(genus ''Salix''), European or Common Ash (''

Fraxinus excelsior ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Albor ...

''), Populus (family ''Salicaceae'') and

Vitis ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, ...

grapevines (of the family

Vitaceae The Vitaceae are a family of flowering plants, with 14 genera and around 910 known species, including common plants such as grapevines (''Vitis'' spp.) and Virginia creeper (''Parthenocissus quinquefolia''). The family name is derived from the ge ...

References

External links

*
Article in PNAS (1999)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrigo Do Lagar Velho Prehistoric sites in Portugal National monuments in Leiria District Neanderthal sites