http://www2.polskieradio.pl/eo/dokument.aspx?iid=124819

Neanderthal man found in Poland

02.02.2010

The fossilised remains of a males from the Neanderthal period have been found in the Stajnia cave, in Bobolice, around 50 kilometres from Katowice, southern Poland.

 

(audio report by Slawek Szefs)

 

The find is evidence that pre-historic communities lived there at least 100,000 years ago. Parts of three bodies have been discovered by scientists from Szczecin University, cooperating with Wrocław University in what scientists say is a fantastic find.

 

Archaeologist Mikołaj Urbanowski told Polskie Radio that not only the remains of a pre-historic man were found in Poland, but there is also reason to believe that the bodies may have been buried. If proven, this would be a breakthrough discovery, as theories so far claimed that the Neanderthal men did not bury their dead.

 

“We found the remains of not one, but three people. Some facts seem to suggest that the site may have been a burial place,” he said.

 

The Stajnia cave is the first place in the whole of Central East Europe where evidence of Neanderthal man has been found. So far in Poland, only tools used by the Neanderthal people have been recovered.

 

This is the second amazing archaeological find announced in Poland within a month. In January, scientists from Poland and Sweden announced they had found tracks of footprints of a tetrapod which proved that animals climbed out of the water much earlier than originally thought. (jn/pg)