An unprecedented paleoanthropological discovery has emerged from the southern reaches of the Iberian Peninsula, precisely along Portugal’s Algarve coast, unveiling the first documented Neanderthal footprints in the country. Published in the renowned journal Scientific Reports, this landmark international study spearheaded by geologist and paleontologist Carlos Neto de Carvalho from the IDL-University of Lisbon, marks a significant stride in tracing the presence and behaviors of Neanderthal hominids on the Atlantic shores during the Pleistocene epoch. This breakthrough not only broadens geographical knowledge but also deepens the comprehension of how these archaic humans engaged with coastal ecosystems tens of thousands of years ago.
The research embodies a truly interdisciplinary effort, enlisting prominent collaborators such as Fernando Muñiz Guinea from the University of Seville’s Department of Crystallography, Mineralogy, and Agricultural Chemistry, alongside teams spanning universities and institutes across Portugal, Spain, Gibraltar, Italy, Denmark, and China. Harnessing methods that blend geological analysis with paleoecological and behavioral studies, the team meticulously cataloged and interpreted fossilized footprints embedded in sedimentary rock formations. These integral clues grant an instantaneous snapshot of Neanderthal life, highlighting not only their physical presence but also the interaction dynamics within their habitats.
At the core of this study lie two distinctive locations along the Algarve coast: Praia do Monte Clérigo, where footprints date back approximately 78,000 years, and Praia do Telheiro, with prints estimated at 82,000 years old. Monte Clérigo’s findings comprise five distinct trackways with 26 individual footprints attributed to adults and infants as young as just over one year old. These prints are etched onto a once-coastal dune slope, revealing a remarkable behavioral tableau. In contrast, Telheiro presents a solitary footprint likely made by a teenage or adult female, flanked by fossilized avian tracks characteristic of coastal rocky environments, hinting at a richer ecological interplay.
Footprint analysis offers an unparalleled vantage point into Neanderthal behavior, far surpassing the interpretive power of isolated stone tools or fossilized bones. Unlike these artifacts—which may have been moved or repurposed over millennia—footprints are preserved in situ, capturing a moment frozen in sediment. This lends scientists the ability to reconstruct precise behaviors such as group movement patterns, hunting pursuits, or environmental usage at remarkably fine temporal scales. The study emphasizes that footprints directly evidence the physical presence of individuals in specific locales, offering an unparalleled behavioral context.
The significance of these fossil trails is manifold. They unveil aspects of locomotion strategies specifically adapted for challenging dune topography, suggesting cognitive planning and spatial awareness in route selection. Furthermore, the relative proximity of footprints to encampments and overlapping prints of other species—such as a track illustrating simultaneous human and deer movement—fuels hypotheses about predatory strategies, including stalking or ambush hunting. This layered evidence opens new discourse on the sophistication of Neanderthal subsistence activities and their ecological interactions.
Importantly, the fossilized footprints allow for demographic inferences about the groups inhabiting these spaces. The varying sizes and shapes of impressions suggest the presence of a multi-age community comprising children, adolescents, and adults. This revelation is critical, as juvenile representations are scant in conventional archaeological finds, usually biased towards durable materials like stone tools or adult skeletal remains. Capturing the footprints of infants and toddlers directly evokes social dynamics and potentially, the division of labor or communal child-rearing practices, providing an intimate glimpse into Neanderthal family life.
Complementing the behavioral data, the study employs ecological network analysis—an analytical approach grounded in mathematical network theory—to synthesize dietary information from other coastal archaeological sites across the Iberian Peninsula. This method confirms that Neanderthals here maintained a diversified diet primarily featuring terrestrial fauna such as deer, horses, and hares, supplemented by marine and littoral resources. Such dietary versatility challenges previous assumptions that coastal Neanderthals had limited subsistence strategies and underscores their adaptive proficiency in exploiting heterogeneous environments.
The Algarve site findings radically shift perspectives on Neanderthal cognitive and ecological capabilities. Historically regarded as predominantly inland hunters with restricted behavioral repertoires, these recent discoveries illustrate a picture of complex spatial utilization, strategic food procurement, and nuanced social organization linked to coastal ecotones. This integrative evidence accentuates how Neanderthals navigated, foraged, and possibly socialized within dynamic coastal landscapes, reshaping narratives around their adaptation and resilience during the climatic fluctuations of the Pleistocene.
Intrinsic to the allure of footprint analysis is the instantaneousness with which these impressions were formed, providing a form of behavioral “time capsule.” Unlike fossilized bones, which accumulate over long periods, or lithic tools, which may be displaced, the footmarks replicate a transient moment—such as a group passing over a dune slope or a predator stalking prey. This immediacy allows reconstruction of movement sequences and potentially social interactions, opening rare windows into everyday activities unresolvable through other archaeological proxies.
The discovery also illustrates the importance of technological and methodological synergy in paleoanthropology. Combining high-resolution sedimentology, comparative ichnology (study of trace fossils), and ecological network modeling, the research transcends traditional analytical boundaries. Such cross-disciplinary innovation bolsters the robustness of interpretations regarding both Neanderthal life histories and broader paleoenvironmental contexts, providing a powerful template for future investigations in hominin behavioral ecology.
Furthermore, these findings contribute significantly to the broader discourse on human evolution, specifically the differentiation of Neanderthal and Homo sapiens adaptive strategies. By illuminating the rich, coastal subsistence and social behaviors of Neanderthals, the study adds complexity to the evolutionary narrative, illustrating that Neanderthal populations possessed flexible, context-dependent behaviors enabling survival in diverse habitats, from coastal dunes to inland forests.
In summary, the identification and interpretation of the first Neanderthal footprints in Portugal offer a revolutionary portal into the lives of these archaic humans. They provide palpable evidence of Neanderthal ecological intelligence, social dynamics, and adaptive versatility. This dynamic snapshot from tens of thousands of years ago enriches our understanding of human ancestry and enhances the archaeological discourse regarding Pleistocene hominin evolution on the Atlantic fringe of the Iberian Peninsula.
Subject of Research: Neanderthal footprints and coastal behavior during the Pleistocene in the Iberian Peninsula
Article Title: Neanderthal coasteering and the first Portuguese hominin tracksites
News Publication Date: 3-Jul-2025
Web References:
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-06089-4
Keywords: Neanderthals, Hominids, Human origins, Human adaptation, Early humans, Anthropogenesis, Anthropology, Archaeology
