The El Mirón Cave is a large cave in the upper Asón River valley towards the eastern end of

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

in northern Spain, near the border of the Basque Country. It is an archeological site in Ramales de la Victoria. It is known for a skeleton belonging to a woman nicknamed The

Red Lady of El Mirón The Red Lady of El Mirón is a skeleton belonging to a woman of Upper Paleolithic (Magdalenian) found at El Mirón Cave in eastern Cantabria, Spain. Background The discovery was published in 2015 by a team of archaeologists from Universidad de Bur ...

. She is estimated to have died around 18,700 years ago, during the Upper Paleolithic ( Magdalenian). The skeleton is examined to that of someone between 35 and 40 years. Her bones were coated with ochre, a red iron-based pigment, hence, her name. The cave was discovered in 1903 by amateur archaeologists Hermilio Alcalde del Río and Lorenzo Sierra. It contains a rich collection of Upper Paleolithic art. Among the prominent arts are those of an engraving of a horse and possibly one of a bison. The first systematic excavation started only in 1996. The team of archaeologists, led by Lawrence Straus of the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

and Manuel González Morales of the

University of Cantabria University of Cantabria (UC) ( es, Universidad de Cantabria), is a public university located in Santander, Torrelavega and Comillas in Cantabria, Spain. It was founded in 1972 and is organized in 15 schools and colleges. It was selected ...

, 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mirón Cave, El Paleoanthropological sites Archaeological sites in Spain Caves of Cantabria Magdalenian Art of the Upper Paleolithic