28,000-year-old tomb buries a hybrid of two species

(NLDO) - Determining the age of the ancient tomb of the "Lapedo child" in Portugal has confused scientists.

Writing in the journal Science Advances , a team of researchers said they had successfully dated the famous "Lapedo child" burial, a hybrid of the two species buried in Portugal.

The results showed that the grave was made about 28,000 years ago. And it started another problem: One of the two human species from which the child was descended was believed to have gone extinct 40,000 years ago.

The statue depicting the "Lapedo child" from the tomb has just been identified as 28,000 years old - Photo: ANCIENT ORIGINS

The "Lapedo child" grave was excavated in 1998 and immediately attracted the attention of scientists around the world when the skeleton clearly showed mixed characteristics of two different human species.

The skeleton is that of a child, with a protruding chin like modern Homo sapiens but short, stocky legs like Neanderthals, along with many other characteristics of one of the two species.

Decades later decoding of ancient human DNA confirmed that the child was a hybrid, the result of interbreeding, which happened frequently between our ancestors and extinct human species.

A major drawback in studying burial sites associated with ancient humans is the difficulty in accurately dating the remains. Over tens of thousands of years, contamination from surrounding materials is inevitable.

In four previous attempts, researchers used traditional radiocarbon dating methods to narrow down the burial time frame, but the results were not satisfactory.

Now, using a new method called compound-specific radiocarbon analysis (CSRA), researchers have determined that the "Lapedo child" is thousands of years older than originally estimated.

The precise dating of hybrid remains provides valuable information for shaping human history, including how alien genes entered and were preserved for millennia in modern human populations.

The way the tomb was constructed is also interesting. It was an elaborate ritual, with a young rabbit placed on top of the child’s remains as an offering. There were also red deer bones placed near the shoulders, and charcoal at the feet.

The site where the child was buried was abandoned for nearly two millennia afterward.

"The child's death may have made the site taboo or unsuitable for regular hunting activities, causing people to stay away until the event faded from social memory," researcher João Zilhão from the University of Barcelona (Spain) told Live Science.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/ngoi-mo-28000-nam-chon-cat-nguoi-lai-giua-2-loai-196250309100255248.htm