ABQ Times

A recent study has shed light on the prehistoric human and animal populations that inhabited El Mirón Cave in northern Spain, preceding the famous "Red Lady of El Mirón." The research was published in Nature Communications and led by Pere Gelabert and Victoria Oberreiter from the University of Vienna's Department of Evolutionary Anthropology. This groundbreaking work utilized sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) to uncover details about these ancient communities.

The Red Lady, a woman whose remains were discovered in 2010 by Lawrence Straus from The University of New Mexico and David Cuenca Solana, was buried around 19,000 years ago. Her bones were coated with ochre, earning her nickname. Recent sedaDNA analysis has revealed insights into the human groups that lived before her time.

Lawrence Straus noted, “We don’t need bones,” highlighting how this new method allows researchers to identify species present at the site without relying solely on bone remains. The study found evidence of animals such as dholes, leopards, hyenas, wooly mammoths, rhinoceroses, and reindeer—some not previously represented by physical remains at the site.

Human mitochondrial DNA extracted from sediments showed that people who made Solutrean artifacts during the Last Glacial Maximum had 'Fournol' genetic ancestry. These individuals contributed to the Red Lady's DNA along with Villabruna ancestry from Lower Magdalenian times.

“This is another methodological and empirical breakthrough,” said Straus. He emphasized how this technique opens new possibilities for studying ancient populations when well-preserved bones are scarce.

Research at El Mirón continues under co-direction involving several experts including Straus and Manuel Gonzalez Morales from Universidad de Cantabria. Future publications will include results on nuclear DNA recovery from cave sediments.