Coutinho-Nogueira, DanyGodinho, Ricardo MiguelGaspar, Rosa RamosAndre, LinoBicho, NunoCascalheira, JoãoGonçalves, CéliaUmbelino, Cláudia2025-10-072025-10-072025-07-031758-5716http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/27793Cabeço da Amoreira, a key Mesolithic shell mound in the Muge region (central Portugal) provides critical insights into the funerary and socio-cultural practices of Western Europe’s last hunter-gatherer-fisher populations. Recent systematic excavations have provided new data into biological diversity and funerary practices, particularly in relation to non-adult individuals. This study focuses on three non-adult burials uncovered since 2019. By employing state-of-the-art imaging techniques, we digitally recorded, virtually excavated, and analysed the biological profiles of these individuals. Our results demonstrate a notable variability in funerary practices, including differences in burial orientation, the presence or absence of artefacts, and even the construction of a purposeful burial feature for one individual. These discoveries contribute significantly to the growing body of research on Mesolithic funerary traditions, illustrating the complexity of social and ritual behaviours in southwestern Iberia’s last hunter-gatherer-fisher societies and opening new avenues for comparative research on childhood and burial practices in prehistory.engMesolithicHunter-gathererfisher societiesNon-adultsFunerary practicesShell moundPalaeoimagingjournal article10.1080/17585716.2025.25389222040-8528