LIFE AND DEATH IN LAGAR VELHO

... and Death

The child burial still is Lagar Velho's most emblematic event. Late 2023 marked the 25th anniversary of the discovery of the site and the skeleton of the Lapedo Child, nowadays an Asset of National Interest, commonly referred to as National Treasure.
The child was deposited in a small pit close to the back wall of the rockshelter, taking advantage of an existing recess. The body was protected by a shroud dyed with ochre and a young rabbit was placed on its legs. This leads us to imagine, in contemporary terms, that this animal might have been the child’s companion in life or, perhaps, that this was its favourite species. These are some of the legitimate hypotheses that our imagination suggests, in the absence of a substantiated scientific explanation.