March
08
/ 2025
The conventional theory is that humans and Neanderthals interbred between 40,000 and 50,000 years ago, with Neanderthals going extinct not long after that. But a new study has determined that the skeleton of a child with both human and Neanderthal traits found in central Portugal three decades ago is approximately 28,000 years old, which is well outside that timeline. For the first time, advanced radiocarbon dating has provided a precise age assessment for the “ Lapedo Child,” one of the most intriguing prehistoric human skeletons ever unearthed—and the possible implications of that assessment are profound. Were Neanderthals alive and still interbreeding with their human cousins as recently as 26,000 BC? The answer to this question is unclear at the moment
