Neanderthal Footprints 78,000–82,000 Years Old on Portugal’s Coast Reveal Sophisticated Hunting Skills and Coastal Lifestyle

In a Scientific Reports study published in 2025, an international team led by Carlos Neto de Carvalho has unveiled the first Neanderthal footprint sites ever found in Portugal—two remarkable tracksites on the Algarve coast that paint a vivid picture of family groups actively hunting and thriving in dune environments long before Homo sapiens reached western Europe.

At Praia do Monte Clérigo, 26 footprints forming five trackways date to 78,000 ± 5,000 years ago. They document adults alongside children, including a toddler barely over one year old, traversing steep coastal dunes. Critically, several human tracks overprint those of red deer and aurochs, directly evidencing ambush or stalking hunting strategies on dune slopes and seasonal interdune lakes. Route-planning behavior is evident: individuals navigated challenging terrain with purpose, turning the dynamic dune landscape into a natural hunting ground.

Four kilometers away at Praia do Telheiro, a single slim footprint—likely from a teenager or adult female—dates to 82,000 ± 5,000 years ago and lies amid bird tracks typical of rocky coastal habitats. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of the eolianites confirms both sites fall within Marine Isotope Stage 5a.

These “snapsH๏τs of life” demonstrate that Neanderthals were not merely coastal visitors but skilled dune navigators who incorporated young children into foraging and hunting parties. The evidence rewrites ᴀssumptions about Neanderthal mobility, social structure, and ecological adaptability, proving they exploited Portugal’s shifting shorelines with the same ingenuity seen at other Iberian sites like Matalascañas. The “first Portuguese hominin tracks” add powerful behavioral detail to the Neanderthal story—families hunting together by the sea, 80,000 years ago.