In 1998, archaeologists discovered the skeletal remains of a child in Portugal’s Lapedo Valley. When the team took a closer look at the ochre-stained bones, they were surprised to find that the “Lapedo child” had a mix of both Neanderthal and human features.

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have dated the skeleton of an ancient child that caused a stir when it was first discovered because it carries features from both humans and Neanderthals.

Advanced radiocarbon dating has provided the most accurate age assessment yet for the “Lapedo Child,” one of the most provocative prehistoric human skeletons ever discovered. But the results of this study published March 7 in the journal Science Advances aren’t likely to settle an ongoing debate in the paleoarcheological community.

Incredibly, 28,000 years later, the burial would prove that our ancestors hooked up with Neanderthals.

In 1998, the Lapedo Child rose to fame as it astonishingly carried human and Neanderthal genes. Twenty-seven years later, scientists finally dated the special child, highlighting how far the technology has come in recent years.

A cutting-edge radiocarbon technique has provided the most precise date yet for the Lapedo Child, a prehistoric skeleton with both Neanderthal and modern human traits. Found in Portugal’s Lapedo Valley in 1998,