Scientists have discovered new details about an Ice Age baby who lived in southern Italy about 17,000 years ago. The remains, which were discovered by archaeologist Mauro Calattini in the Grotta delle Mura cave in Monopoli in 1998, indicate that the child probably died from congenital heart disease.

DNA analysis determined that the baby, who was male, likely had blue eyes, dark skin, and curly dark brown to nearly black hair. The small remains also manifested symptoms of poor development and inbreeding. No grave goods were found within the child’s grave, which was discovered beneath two rock slabs. This burial remains the only one uncovered within the cave.

A paper, published on 20 September in Nature Communications, gives insight into this ancient child’s life and appearance, yielding valuable clues about the early human population of southern Europe.

“Genetic analysis highlighted a close relationship between the child’s parents, suggesting that they were probably first cousins,” explains University of Florence molecular anthropologist Alessandra Modi, “a phenomenon rarely found in the Paleolithic, but more common during the Neolithic.”

“Our work is a crucial piece in the understanding of the early stages of life in the Upper Palaeolithic,” says Stefano Benazzi, Professor of Physical Anthropology at the University of Bologna. “This pioneering study, which combines different techniques of analysis of skeletal remains, has provided an unprecedented insight into the growth and living conditions of a child who lived in a key period for the settlement of the Italian peninsula, also allowing us to gather information about the mother and the hunter-gatherer groups of the time. Our research represents a significant advance, demonstrating the importance of interdisciplinarity to deepen our knowledge of prehistoric populations.”

Anthropological analyses conducted by the University of Siena have provided the basis for understanding the child’s physical development. “The combination of these different methodologies has allowed us to reconstruct with unprecedented precision the life and death of this child,” says Stefano Ricci of the University of Siena.

Archaeologists, in collaboration with experts from National Museums Scotland (NMS) and Cardiff University, have revealed the existence of a Neolithic site in Holm on the main Orkney island. Remarkably, despite extensive damage inflicted by Victorian antiquarians more than a century ago, fragments of human bones have been successfully identified. Additionally, the dedicated efforts of local volunteers, in conjunction with students from the University of Central Lancashire, led to the discovery of pottery, stone tools, and a bone pin meticulously carved.

According to The BBC, these ruins are of an “incredibly rare” 5,000-year-old tomb. Despite the damage, the archaeologists have found 14 skeletons of men, women, and children. Archaeologists said the bodies had been carefully set out, and DNA and isotope analysis would show if they were relatives and where they were from.

The news portal further mentioned that the three-week excavation led by Dr Hugo Anderson-Whymark of NMS and Cardiff’s Professor Vicki Cummings has revealed traces of a stone cairn 15m (49ft) in diameter, which had contained a 7 m-long (23ft) passage. The archaeologists said a stone chamber lay at the centre of the cairn, and this was surrounded by six smaller cells.

Dr Anderson-Whymark told The BBC, “This find is extremely exciting. Orkney is exceptionally rich in archaeology, but we never expected to find a tomb of this size in such a small-scale excavation.”

“It’s incredible to think this once impressive monument was nearly lost without record, but fortunately just enough stonework has survived for us to be able to understand the size, form, and construction of this tomb.”