Scientists at the University of Szczecin in northern Poland have found the remains of the first Neanderthal discovered on Polish soil, local media reported Monday.
The remains of tooth fragments were found in what appeared to be a grave, the daily Rzeczpospolita reported, which could mean Neanderthals were more advanced than originally thought, DPA reported.
The discovery could mean the prehistoric subspecies buried their dead and had an idea about religion.
The findings were published in the German weekly Naturwissenschaften (Natural Sciences) after tests confirmed the teeth found in 2008 belonged to a Neanderthal.
The remains were found in the Polish Jura Chain, a Jurassic system in south-central Poland that runs across the city of Krakow and includes limestone rocks, cliffs and some 220 caves.
Traces of the Neanderthal first appeared some 600,000 to 350,000 years ago in Europe and Asia.
Their traces had been previously found in Poland but never their remains, Mikolaj Urbanowski, head of the research team, told TVN 24.