Dental Microwear Texture Analysis on the Lower Magdalenian "Red Lady" from El Mirón Cave (Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria, Spain).

El Mirón cave in Northern Spain is a deeply stratified archaeological site covering periods from the Middle Paleolithic to the Middle Ages. Here, we present the analysis of occlusal molar microwear textures of the Lower Magdalenian human individual, an adult female called “Red Lady” as the skeletal remains were covered in red ochre, dated directly to 15.460 ± 40 BP (uncal.). Microwear textures were characterized on the facet 9 of the lower left permanent first molar, using white-light confocal profilometry and scale-sensitive fractal analysis.

The results obtained (Asfc 1.208, epLsar 0.0051) indicate a diet rich in meat for the “Red Lady” as the microwear signature variables retrieved are similar to those known for the Fueguians, ethnographically documented meat-eaters from cold-steppe environments. These results corroborate and complement those obtained previously through isotope analysis, buccal dental wear and faunal remains, implying a wide exploitation of the environment by this woman, and probably by her group.

The variables obtained were compared to previous published data for Upper Paleolithic Modern Humans based on their technological context. The low value obtained for Asfc indicate this individual had a diet with low content of abrasives (both dietary or extraneous), different as expected for a Magdalenian individual, and closer to the Gravettian mean value, maybe due to similar use of food preparation techniques.