TheEl Mirón Caveis a large cave in the upperAsón River valleytowards the eastern end ofCantabriain northern Spain, near the border of the Basque country.[1]It is anarcheological siteinRamales de la Victoria.It is known for a skeleton belonging to a woman nicknamed TheRed Lady of El Mirón.She is estimated to have died around 18,700 years ago, during theUpper Paleolithic(Magdalenian).[2][3]The skeleton is estimated to be that of a woman between 35 and 40 years. Her bones were coated withochre,a red iron-based pigment, hence, her name.[4]
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  location inSpain  El Mirón Cave (Spain) | |
| Location | Asón River valley |
|---|---|
| Region | Cantabria,Spain |
| Coordinates | 43°14′47″N3°27′4″W/ 43.24639°N 3.45111°W |
| Type | Cave |
The cave was discovered in 1903 by amateur archaeologists Hermilio Alcalde del Río and Lorenzo Sierra. It contains a rich collection ofUpper Paleolithic art.[1]Among the prominent art there are the engravings of a horse and possibly one of a bison.[5]The first systematic excavation started only in 1996. The team of archaeologists, led by Lawrence Straus of theUniversity of New Mexicoand Manuel González Morales of theUniversity of Cantabria,made a discovery of a number of prehistoric remains. The Red Lady was discovered in 2010. The cave contains a large limestone block towards the rear. A narrow space running through the block was the location of the skeleton.[4]
References
edit- ^abStraus, Lawrence Guy; Morales, Manuel R. González (2013). "El Miron Cave: Geography and Culture". In Smith, Claire (ed.).978-1-4419-0426-3 Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology.New York (US): Springer Science+Business Media. pp. 2346–2352.doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_2247.ISBN978-1-4419-0426-3.
- ^González Morales, Manuel R.; Straus, Lawrence G. (2015). "Magdalenian-age graphic activity associated with the El Mirón Cave human burial".Journal of Archaeological Science.60(1): 125–133.doi:10.1016/j.jas.2015.02.025.
- ^Straus, Lawrence G.; González Morales, Manuel R.; Carretero, Jose Miguel; Marín-Arroyo, Ana Belen (2015).""The Red Lady of El Mirón". Lower Magdalenian life and death in Oldest Dryas Cantabrian Spain: an overview ".Journal of Archaeological Science.60(1): 134–137.doi:10.1016/j.jas.2015.02.034.
- ^abWeiss, Daniel (11 August 2015)."The Red Lady of El Mirón".Archaeology.Archaeological Institute of America.Retrieved27 July2016.
- ^Sarchet, Penny (1 March 2015)."Red Lady cave burial reveals Stone Age secrets".New Scientist.Retrieved2 August2016.