Researchers said it casts a new light on human presence in western Europe
The Red Lady of Paviland has always been a little coy about her age – but it appears she may be 4,000 years older than previously thought.
Scientists say more accurate tests date the earliest human burial found in the UK to just over 29,000 years ago.
When discovered in a cave on Gower in the 1820s the bones were thought to be around 18,000 years old, but were later redated to between 25,000 and 26,000.
Researchers said it casts a new light on human presence in western Europe.
The team from Oxford University and the British Museum said new dating techniques provided more accurate results. The skeleton of the Red Lady – actually a young male – was discovered at Goat’s Hole Cave at Paviland on Gower in 1823 by William Buckland, then a geology professor at Oxford University.
It owes its name to the red ochre covering the bones.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/7069001.stm