Approximately 19,000 years ago, during the era of hunter-gatherers, a woman passed away and was buried in a cave in Cantabria, in northern Spain. This site, known as the El Mirón Cave, has provided an invaluable source of information about the presence and activity of prehistoric populations. However, it was not until 1996 that archaeologists began to systematically explore the cave, uncovering compelling evidence of the lives of these ancient human groups.

In 2010, Lawrence Straus, professor emeritus at the University of New Mexico, along with Spanish researcher David Cuenca Solana, discovered the woman’s remains. The finding was the result of an intuition by Straus, who decided to excavate behind an engraved block at the back of the cave’s vast vestibule. In collaboration with his colleague Manuel González Morales from the University of Cantabria, who has led excavations at El Mirón for over twenty-five years, they managed to recover part of her skeleton, including her jawbone.

It was determined that the woman was between 35 and 40 years old at the time of her death. The most striking feature was that her bones were covered in red ochre, a pigment composed of iron oxide with flashes of specular hematite. This distinctive color earned her the nickname “the Red Lady of El Mirón.” Since her discovery, this prehistoric figure has continued to provide valuable information to archaeologists and bioanthropologists.

Red Lady of El Mirón
The entrance to the El Mirón cave in Cantabria, Spain. Credit: University of New Mexico

The study of ancient DNA has become an essential tool for reconstructing the lives and lineages of prehistoric humans. Until recently, DNA extraction relied exclusively on bone or dental remains. However, recent research has demonstrated that it is also possible to obtain genetic information from sediments, revolutionizing the way we understand the past. This innovative approach, known as ancient sedimentary DNA or “sedaDNA,” has made it possible to discover details about the human and animal populations that inhabited the cave before the Red Lady.

An article published in the journal Nature Communications presents these recent findings. The research, led by Pere Gelabert and Victoria Oberreiter at the laboratory of Professor Ron Pinhasi at the University of Vienna, included the collaboration of Straus and González Morales.

Three years ago, Pinhasi contacted Straus to propose applying this new technique to the El Mirón Cave. This decision was influenced by the previous success of Nobel laureate Svante Pääbo in extracting DNA from the Red Lady, as well as the achievements of Professor Christina Warinner in recovering bacterial DNA from dental calculus in the same individual.

Red Lady of El Mirón
The slab behind which the remains of the Red Lady of El Mirón were discovered. Credit: Universidad de Cantabria

The analysis of sedaDNA enabled the identification of human and animal genetic material in the sediments from the lower levels of the site. This discovery confirms that well-preserved skeletal remains are not necessary to obtain genetic information. In fact, evidence was found of animal species that were not represented in the bones recovered from excavations. Among them were the Asiatic red wolf or dhole, the leopard and the hyena, as well as prehistoric ungulates such as the woolly mammoth, the woolly rhinoceros, and the reindeer.

Beyond fauna, the study revealed crucial information about the human populations that preceded the Red Lady. It was identified that the inhabitants who crafted Solutrean artifacts during the Late Glacial Maximum (between 25,000 and 21,000 years ago) possessed a genetic lineage known as “Fournol.” This type of ancestry, previously detected in bones from sites in France and Spain, indicates that these human groups migrated south during the climatic crisis of the time. Later, these individuals contributed to the genetic makeup of the Red Lady along with ancestors from the Balkans via northern Italy, identified as the “Villabruna” ancestry.

The ability to extract DNA from sediments represents an unprecedented advancement in archaeological and paleogenetic research. Since human remains with well-preserved DNA are rare, this methodology significantly expands the possibilities for studying life in the distant past. The exceptional preservation of DNA at El Mirón has made it possible to establish a continuous lineage spanning over 46,000 years, covering the period from the Mousterian era of the Neanderthals to the Initial Magdalenian, approximately between 21,000 and 20,000 years ago.

Red Lady of El Mirón
Excavations in the El Mirón cave, Cantabria, Spain. Credit: Universidad de Cantabria

According to Straus, this discovery represents a milestone both methodologically and empirically, similar to previous studies on natural products with therapeutic potential extracted from bacteria in the dental calculus of the Red Lady. Meanwhile, research at El Mirón continues under the direction of Straus, González Morales, and, since 2023, Cuenca Solana and Igor Gutiérrez Zugasti from the University of Cantabria. The next major step will be the publication of new results obtained by Gelabert and his team, who have successfully extracted nuclear DNA from the cave sediments—an advancement that promises to reveal even more details about the region’s inhabitants during the Pleistocene.

SOURCES

University of New Mexico

Gelabert, P., Oberreiter, V., Straus, L.G. et al. A sedimentary ancient DNA perspective on human and carnivore persistence through the Late Pleistocene in El Mirón Cave, Spain. Nat Commun 16, 107 (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55740-7

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