Lagar Velho Cave (or Abrigo do Lagar Velho or "Old Olive Press Cave" in Portuguese) is an Upper Paleolithic site discovered at the back of a rockshelter located at the base of a limestone cliff in the Lapedo Gorge of western Portugal. Most of the overburden of the site (perhaps as much as 3 meters) was removed prior to its discovery, leaving a few centimeters of soil covering a burial of a child which seems to have both Neanderthal and early modern human characteristics. The Lagar Velho child burial has been dated to approximately 24,500 RCYBP, or approximately 30,000 cal BP.
A 2-3 meter thick remnant of the intact overburden lying against the rock wall approximately 20 meters to the east was excavated, and found to include a rich Gravettian-Solutrean sequence. Well-preserved hearths and other occupation features were identified at the site. Other artifacts within this fill, and lateral stratigraphic correlation, placed the Lagar Velho burial securely at having occurred approximately 30,000 calendar years ago.
Child Burial at Lagar Velho
The Lagar Velho burial (called LV1) consists of approximately 90% of a child's skeleton between about 4-5 years of age. The pattern of the burial is distinctively early Upper Paleolithic. The child's jaw bones, dentition and some sub-cranial characteristics align with that expected for early modern humans; but other physical characteristics, such as lower limb length and tibia robusticity, are Neanderthal attributes. Recent analysis of the Lagar Velho child's teeth has not resolved the issue of whether this person was Neanderthal, early modern human, or an admixture.
The burial was laid on its back parallel to the cliff base. The skeleton, as well as the soil surrounding the burial, was heavily stained with red ochre within a bounded area, leading researchers to suggest that a burial cloth covered with red ochre was used. Parallel to the body but outside the red ochre zone were found animal bones and stones, believed to represent intentional burial features. Scots pine charcoal beneath the burial is also believed to have been part of the ritual; the charcoal was direct-dated to 24,860 +/- 220 RCYBP. Rabbit and deer bone found near the head and legs are also believed to be part of the burial ceremony.
Burial goods associated with the Lagar Velho child seem to suggest the body was wearing a necklace made of pierced shell and deer teeth. A single pierced complete yellow periwinkle (Littorina obtusata) was discovered near the cervical vertebrae. A second pierced L. obtusata was found nearby, as were four pierced red deer canines. Additional pierced L. obtusata were recovered from the habitation levels at the back of the rockshelter.
Lagar Velho and Archaeology
Lagar Velho was discovered in 1998, and excavated as a salvage operation under the direction of João Zilhão. More extensive excavation was conducted in the early 2000s, led by Francisco Almeida.
Sources
Many thanks to excavator João Zilhão at the Universitat de Barcelona for updates to this entry, as well as the use of photographs of the site and burial.
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to Upper Paleolithic, and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Almeida F, Moreno-Garcia M, and Angelucci DE. 2009. From under the bulldozer's claws: the EE15 Late Gravettian occupation surface of the Lagar Velho rock-shelter. World Archaeology 41:242-261.
Aubry T, Dimuccio LA, Almeida M, Neves MJ, Angelucci DE, and Cunha L. 2011. Palaeoenvironmental forcing during the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in central-western Portugal. Quaternary Research 75(1):66-79.
Bayle P, Macchiarelli R, Trinkaus E, Duarte C, Mazurier A, and Zilhão J. 2010. Dental maturational sequence and dental tissue proportions in the early Upper Paleolithic child from Abrigo do Lagar Velho, Portugal. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107(4):1338-1342.
Duarte C, MaurÃcio J, Pettitt PB, Souto P, Trinkaus E, van der Plicht H, and Zilhão J. 1999. The early Upper Paleolithic human skeleton from the Abrigo do Lagar Velho (Portugal) and modern human emergence in Iberia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 96(13):7604-7609.
Vanhaeren M, and d’Errico F. 2002. Chapter 10: The Body Ornaments Associated with the Burial. In: Zilhão J, and Trinkaus E, editors. Portrait of the Artist as a Child: The Gravettian Human Skeleton from the Abrigo do Lagar Velho and its Archeological Context. Lisbon: Instituto Português de Arqueologia. p 154-186.
Zilhão J, and Trinkaus E. (eds) 2002. Portrait of the Artist as a Child. The Gravettian Human Skeleton from the Abrigo do Lagar Velho and its Archeological Context. Lisboa: Instituto Português de Arqueologia.
