Lagar Velho , location in the Proximity of Leiria , Central Portugal where the buried skeleton of a four-year-old child is up to 25,000 years old , was found. The unusual remains combining features of Neanderthal ( Homo neanderthalensis ) and modern humans ( H. sapiens ) have prompted paleoanthropologists to speculate about a possible relationship between the two species.
The remains of Lagar Velho were discovered in 1998. The child's skeleton clearly shows the presence of a chin, and the rounded braincase, small front teeth, narrow torso, and details of the forearm and hand are similar to those of modern humans. Other features, however, are characteristic of Neanderthals who used the Iberian Peninsula occupied far after 30,000 years. Neanderthals include a slope of the chin region, evidence of well-developed arm muscles, and relatively short lower legs. The child thus presents an anatomical mosaic that can indicate, among other things, a crossing between Iberian Neanderthals and early modern humans. This interpretation supports a model that early modern humans spread west across the region around 28,000 years ago, absorbing local Neanderthal populations in the process.
The child's grave was dug into a little-used part of a rock shelter. Pine branches were burned into the pit and the child's body was laid down with pierced deer teeth and shell ornaments and then covered with red ocher pigment. The site documents an elaborate form of for the first time in Iberia Funeral known among other peoples across Europe during the same period.