A Prehistoric Woman Whose Bones Were Covered In Red Pigment Was Found In A Cave In Spain
A woman from a group of hunter-gatherers died about 19,000 years ago and was buried in a cave in northern Spain. Archaeologists began exploring the cave in 1996, uncovering evidence of prehistoric people and their activities.
In 2010, the woman’s remains were discovered after researchers decided to dig behind an engraved block at the back of El Mirón Cave. The prehistoric woman was believed to be between 35 to 40 years old at the time of her death.
Her bones were covered with non-local ochre, a red pigment consisting of iron oxide, which earned her the nickname of “the Red Lady of El Mirón.” Since her discovery, the Red Lady has continued to be a wealth of information for archaeologists.
Usually, ancient DNA is extracted from the bones or teeth of human remains. But in the case of the Red Lady, DNA was also retrieved from the dirt she was buried in.
This sedimentary ancient DNA, or “sedaDNA,” has revealed new information about the human and animal populations that lived before the Red Lady. A team of researchers extracted human and animal mitochondrial DNA from the lower levels of the site.
“We don’t need bones,” said Lawrence Straus, a professor at the University of New Mexico. “The results show that several animals not represented by bones from the dig were present—either once living in the cave or as carcass pieces—in the past and, importantly, the humans who made the Solutrean artifacts during the height of the Last Glacial Maximum (about 25,000 to 21,000 years ago) had ‘Fournol’ genetic ancestry, as has been found in bones or teeth from sites in France and Spain.”
Those people had migrated south during the climatic crisis. They came before the Red Lady and contributed to her DNA.
The ability to extract DNA from dirt has made it possible to study ancient humans and animals in more detail since bones with well-preserved DNA are rare.
The sedaDNA showed the presence of carnivores like the leopard, hyena, and dhole, a wild dog species with a range now limited to eastern and southeastern Asia.
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There was also evidence of the woolly mammoth, rhinoceros, and reindeer, animals that were only minimally represented or not at all represented by bones.
At El Mirón, the sedaDNA dates as far back as 46,000 years ago and as early as 21,000 to 20,000 years ago. Researchers are continuing to investigate El Mirón to learn more about the site’s basic archaeology.
The next step will be to publish the results of the successful recovery of nuclear DNA from the sediments at El Mirón, which was a major breakthrough.
The details of the full study were published in the journal Nature Communications.
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