HistoryPrehistoricPortugalhigh confidence

In 1998, archaeologists discovered the buried skeleton of a four-year-old child dating to approximately 25,000 years ago at Lagar Velho, near Leiria, Portugal.

Notes on verification

Confirmed by peer-reviewed original publication (PubMed 1999), Wikipedia, and specialist archaeology site. Date figure (~25,000 BP) matches long-standing original estimate, though a 2025 study revised it slightly older (~28,000 BP). [cascade flags: wikipedia_dropped_other_sources_exist | tier=silver indep_score=0.925 clusters=2 claim_tier=notable]

Sources