Discovered on the beach: 78,000 years old
The discovery took place in March 2020, just before the COVID-19 lockdown, during an early morning walk by Carlos Neto de Carvalho and his wife, Yilu Zhang, along the Monte Clérigo beach.
THEY HAD TO CLIMB STEEP ROCKSA geologist and geographer couple came across these ancient traces while traversing rock formations near a collapsed cliff. However, when they returned to document the traces, they were nearly trapped by a rapid rising tide and were forced to leave the area by climbing a 15-meter sheer cliff.
Despite the challenges, the effort paid off. Researchers identified five distinct tracks on the beach, totaling 26 footprints. A single Neanderthal footprint was also found on the nearby Praia do Telheiro beach, bringing the total number of Neanderthal footprint tracks discovered in Europe to eight.
78 THOUSAND YEARS OLD...The footprints were dated to between 83,000 and 73,000 years ago using optically stimulated luminescence. This technology allows the determination of age by measuring when mineral grains were last exposed to sunlight.
Analysis of the size and shape of the tracks revealed that an adult male Neanderthal was walking on the coastal dunes with a child aged 7 to 9 years old and an infant younger than 2. Because the tracks were found both toward and away from the beach, it is thought that this group was likely foraging.
THEY WERE NEAR THE CAMPING AREAAccording to the researchers, these tracks suggest that Neanderthals were involved in their daily activities with their children. The overlapping of large mammal tracks with Neanderthal tracks suggests that this group may have hunted prey such as deer, rabbits, or horses by ambush or stalking.
The footprints were found on a steep dune slope, suggesting they were very close to a possible campsite. However, no physical remains of the site have been found so far.
Researchers state that Neanderthals were consciously present in these harsh coastal environments, albeit seasonally, and took advantage of the advantages offered by the terrain.
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