A team of scientists led by researchers from the University of Alcalá (UAH) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) has discovered and analyzed the first direct evidence of basket weaving by nomadic hunter-gatherers and primitive farming communities in southern Europe, specifically in the Cueva de los Murciélagos de Albuñol in Granada, Spain.
Their study, recently published in the journal Science Advances, analyzed 76 artifacts made from natural materials such as wood, reeds, and isparto grass. These objects were originally discovered during mining in the aforementioned cave in Granada in the 19th century.
The researchers' study of raw materials and techniques, as well as carbon-14 dating, showed the set of artifacts dates to the early to mid-Holocene, between 9,500 and 6,200 years ago. This is the first direct evidence of basket-making by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer societies in southern Europe, and a unique set of other organic tools associated with early Neolithic farming societies, such as sandals and wooden spears.
Rethinking prehistoric technology
As Francisco Martínez Sevilla, a researcher at the Department of Prehistory of the University of Alcalá, explains: "The New Year's Eve basket esparto unearthed in the Cueva de los Murciélagos of Albuñol The dating opens a window of opportunity to understand the last hunter-gatherer societies of the early Holocene. The quality and technological complexity of these baskets make us question simplistic assumptions about human societies before the emergence of agriculture in southern Europe. This work and the project being developed make Cuevadelos Murciélagos a unique site in Europe to study organic material from prehistoric populations."
Cuevadelos Murciélagos: unique prehistoric site
Cuevadelos Murciélagos is located on the coast of Granada, south of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, 2 kilometers from the town of Albuñol. The cave is located on the right side of Barrancode las Angosturas at an altitude of 450 meters and about 7 kilometers from the current coastline. It is one of the most representative prehistoric archaeological sites of the Iberian Peninsula, as it contains rare organic material that, before this study, had only been attributed to the Neolithic.
These objects made of perishable materials were discovered during mining operations in the 19th century, documented and restored by Manuel de Gongora Martínez, and later became part of the first collection of the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid.
Ancient mastery of plant fibers
As detailed by María Herrero Otal, a co-author of the work and a researcher at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the Isparto grass products from Cuevadelos Murciélagos are the oldest and best-preserved plant fiber materials known to date in southern Europe. The documented diversity of techniques and treatments of raw materials suggests that prehistoric peoples were capable of mastering this craft since at least the Mesolithic Age, 9,500 years ago. Only one technology has been found associated with hunter-gatherers, and the range of types, techniques and processing of isparto grasses during the Neolithic period expanded from 7,200 to 6,200 years ago.
This work is part of the project "Delos museos alterritorio: actualizandoelestudio della Cuevadelos Murciélagos de Albuñol (Granada)" (MUTERMUR), funded by the Community of Madrid and the University of Alcalá.
The aim of the project is to conduct a holistic study of the site and its material record, apply the latest archaeological techniques, and generate high-quality scientific data. The project also has the cooperation of the National Archaeological Museum, the Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum of Granada, the Albnor City Council and the owners of the cave.
"The results of this work and the discovery of the oldest woven basket in southern Europe give added meaning to the words written by Manuel de Gongora in his book Prehistoric Monuments of Andalusia (1868): Cueva de los Murciélagos is now forever famous throughout the world."