A team from Oxford University have helped to uncover the true age of an ancient skeleton, casting new light on human presence in western Europe.The skeleton, named The Red Lady of Paviland for its red ochre covering, was thought to be between 25000 and 26000 years old. However, new technology has discovered the remains to be around 4000 years older than this.Oxford University experts teamed up with members of the British Museum to uncover new ideas about the ways in which people lived. The skeleton was first discovered in Paviland on Gower in the 1820s. Although named a "Lady", it was later discovered that the remains were actually those of a male.Dr Thomas Higham of Oxford University commented that the data was important for "our understanding of the presence and behaviour of humans in thi part of the world at this time." He went on to say that the details might suggest that the custom of burying people with artefacts was in fact a western European trend, rather than an eastern European one, as previously thought.
