Portuguese archaeologists have discovered Neanderthal traces dating back thousands of years on beaches in south-western Portugal. The footprints provide fascinating insights into how early humans lived on the coast over 80,000 years ago.
Portugal's coast is not only known for its beauty, but also for its rich history, dating back to prehistoric times. The dinosaur tracks on Salema beach in the Algarve have long been one of the "must-see" hotspots for travelers. Now a team of researchers led by Dr. Carlos Neto de Carvalho from the University of Lisbon has made another unusual discovery and presented it in a study.
The research team has found traces dating back thousands of years that indicate the presence of Neanderthals from more than 80,000 years ago on two beaches in south-western Portugal. In Monte Clérigo, around 78,000 years ago, three Stone Age people left behind traces that show how skillfully they moved through the dunes. Their paths indicate that they planned routes. At the second site, Praia do Telheiro, a single footprint proves that Neanderthals were already on the move in this dune system around 82,000 years ago.
It is known that prehistoric people also settled in coastal regions, but concrete evidence of their daily life there is rare. The new finds show that entire families apparently roamed the dunes. Based on the size of the footprints, it can be reconstructed that an adult of around 1.70 meters, a child between seven and nine years old and even a toddler were on the trail.
Particularly interesting are superimposed imprints of humans and animals - presumably a deer. For the researchers, this indicates that the Neanderthals used the dunes specifically for ambushes and hunting. Other archaeological finds show that their diet consisted mainly of wild animals: horses, cattle, deer and hares were regularly on the menu, while shellfish, fish and seals were only eaten as a supplement.
