The mechanism of the funerary treatment of the Red Lady indicates that we are dealing with a woman who was important to her group or community. The presence of ochre all over the body and flowers, the subsequent treatment of the bones in a second burial, as well as the early dates, such as the Lower Magdalenian, are proof of this. However, although similar burials have not been found in the Iberian Peninsula for the same chronologies, they have been found in Europe. For example, we have evidence of the Lady of Cavillon (Liguria, c. -24000) who wore a headdress with more than 300 shells joined by a net and who was buried stuck against a slab containing an engraving of a horse. There is also evidence in the French area, such as the lady of Cap Blanc (Marquay, c. -18000), the remains of a woman buried at Lugerie-Basse (c. -18000) and the lady of Saint-Germain-la-Rivière (c. -19000). They all have a similar age at death of between 35 and 40 years and received the same funerary treatment, i.e. they were deposited in the foetal position on the left side and sprinkled with ochre. Historiography is still investigating to determine the degree of importance within their community.
Red Lady
Cantabria Between the year 18830 B.C.E. and the year 18590 B.C.E. ‖ Cantabria Between the year 18830 B.C.E. and the year 18590 B.C.E.
Period of activity: Unknown date
Geographical classification: Europe > Spain
Socio-cultural movements
Prehistory > Magdalenian
Groups by dedication
Clerical or spiritual women > Priestesses
Clerical or spiritual women > Witches / Shamans
Context of feminine creation
Review
A skeleton of a woman between 35 and 40 years old, found in the cave of El Mirón (Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria), is known as Dama Roja (Red Lady). It is the first complete human burial from the Lower Magdalenian period to be discovered in the Iberian Peninsula. The human remains are those of a robust adult woman of approximately 1.60 cm. And 56 kilos, apparently healthy, who was buried in the back part of the cave room between 18830 and 18590 years ago.
Activities
Justifications
Biography
She had lived in the cold, open environment of the earliest Dryas, with a subsistence based on hunting mainly ibex and deer, fishing salmon and some plant gathering, including some starchy seeds and mushrooms. The technology of their group included the manufacture and use of stone tools and manufactured items, both in non-local flint of excellent quality and in local flint, as well as bone adzes and needles. The genetic study of the Red Lady helps us to know what the European populations were like during the Palaeolithic period, as her DNA indicates that she was dark-skinned, with dark eyes and had fine, curly hair, thus allowing us to discard the traditional belief of representing and identifying them with white skin. The place where the corpse was deposited may have been marked by an engraving that suggests a female personage, and a large adjacent block was bathed in red ochre, as was the entire level from which the bone remains were recovered. The genetic study of the Red Lady helps us to know what the European populations were like during the Palaeolithic period, as her DNA indicates that she was dark-skinned, with dark eyes and had fine, curly hair, thus allowing us to rule out the traditional belief that they were represented and identified with white skin. The place where the corpse was deposited may have been marked by an engraving suggesting a female personage, and a large adjacent block was bathed in red ochre, as was the entire level from which the bone remains were recovered. Interestingly, this ochre bath is the only element of the grave goods that can be related to the lady in red. The tomb was partially disturbed by a wolf-sized carnivore once the corpse had decomposed. After this alteration, it seems that there was a second, subsequent funerary treatment in which the bones were removed and relocated and again bathed in ochre. After this second action, the community decided to remove the skull and the larger bones, probably to deposit them elsewhere. This funerary treatment suggests that she was an important woman for her community. They found an unexpected preponderance of pollen from the Chenopod group, which includes plants such as spinach and makes small, yellow flowers. This is interpreted as a possible floral offering that covered the body. Dental isotope analyses show that it had a varied diet, consisting of meat from land and aquatic animals and vegetables.
Works
Bibliography
Noticias de la Universidad de Cantabria. “¿Quién era y cómo vivía la Dama Roja de El Mirón?” , 19/03/2022, https://web.unican.es/noticias/Paginas/2015/abril/Quien-era-y-como-vivia-la-dama-roja-de-El-Miron.aspx
Innovaspain, 19/03/2022, https://www.innovaspain.com/diez-anos-hallazgo-dama-roja/
Cantabria. Europapress.es, 19/03/2022,
Nutcrackerman.com, 19/03/2022, https://nutcrackerman.com/2019/07/31/la-dama-roja-de-el-miron/
Newscientist.com, 19/03/2022,
Terraeantiquae.com, 19/03/2022, https://terraeantiqvae.com/m/blogpost?id=2043782%3ABlogPost%3A346746
Patou-Mathis, Marylène (2021). El hombre prehistórico es también una mujer. Lumen.
Straus, Lawrence Guy; 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. 'The Red Lady of El Mirón Cave': Lower Magdalenian Human Burial in Cantabrian, Spain. nº. 60, pp. 134-137.
Straus, Lawrence Guy; González Morales, Manuel R. (2015). «The Magdalenian human burial of El Mirón Cave (Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria, Spain): introduction, background, discovery and context». Journal of Archaeological Science 60: 1-9. 'The Red Lady of El Mirón Cave': Lower Magdalenian Human Burial in Cantabrian, Spain, n.º 60, pp. 1-9.
Lecture National Archaeological Museum: La vida de una mujer magdaleniense, 19/03/2022,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68sSi3466uc
Cueva de El Mirón, diez años desde el descubrimiento. University of Cantabria 19/03/2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfE2sZeVp0k
Didactic approach
For Geography and History 1st ESO, its introduction makes the presence of relevant women in the Upper Palaeolithic visible. It also helps in the knowledge of the auxiliary disciplines of archaeology: DNA, palaeoanthropology, dental isotope analysis.
It is also appropriate in Biology in 1st and 3rd ESO to deal with the anatomical features that characterise female skeletons. And in 4th ESO where phenotypes, genotypes and DNA in general can be better understood.
For Plastic, visual and audiovisual education, from 1st to 3rd ESO for learning visual language as a form of communication and developing one's own creativity.