Genetic analysis of 7,000 year old preserved goat leather from Cueva de los Murciélagos (Albuñol, Spain)
10 affiliations
- 1UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Ireland
- 2UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Belfield, Ireland
- 3Faculté sciences et ingénierie, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
- 4Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- 5Archaeology Department, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
- 6Departamento de Historia, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
- 7Laboratorio de Arqueología Biocultural (MEMOLab), Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
- 8Departamento de Historia y Filosofía, Área de Prehistoria, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
- 9Centro Oceanográfico de Canarias (COC), Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO-CSIC), Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
- 10GenPhySE, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, ENVT, Castanet Tolosan, France
Abstract
Advances in ancient DNA research have expanded the range of materials from which genetic information can be recovered, enabling the analysis of atypical materials. These often preserve both host and exogenous DNA, for example due to handling or native microbes, offering a window into past diversity. Here we report one such exceptional material: a well-preserved goat leather specimen from Cueva de los Murciélagos (Albuñol, Spain), associated with an Early Neolithic context. Archaeozoological analyses show clear evidence of tanning and anthropogenic modification of the skin, while radiocarbon dating confirms it to be ~ 7,250−7,000 years old. We generated genome-wide data from the leather (Murciélagos1) and demonstrated that it derives from a domestic goat of European ancestry. Comparisons with modern goats show highest affinity to the Bermeya breed from northern Spain, demonstrating genetic connectivity in goat herds from the Neolithic to present day Iberia. We additionally recover fragmented DNA from the leather deriving from human and canid sources, the former likely reflecting handling/wearing of the leather and the latter indicating post-depositional disturbance. Murciélagos1 represents one of the oldest nuclear genome data from organic remains outside of high altitude, high latitude regions, and demonstrates the value of ancient DNA analysis in exceptional cases of organic preservation.
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BibTeX
@article{erven2026genetic,
title = {{Genetic analysis of 7,000 year old preserved goat leather from Cueva de los Murciélagos (Albuñol, Spain)}},
author = {Jolijn A. M. Erven and Zoé Robinet Guyet and Louis L’Hôte and Valeria Mattiangeli and Eva Fernández-Domínguez and Geordie Laidlaw and Rafael M. Martínez Sánchez and Blas Ramos Rodríguez and Maria Herrero-Otal and Pedro Henríquez Valido and José Antonio Lozano Rodríguez and The VarGoats consortium and Daniel G. Bradley and Kevin G. Daly and Francisco Martínez-Sevilla},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0358468},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358468},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Genetic analysis of 7,000 year old preserved goat leather from Cueva de los Murciélagos (Albuñol, Spain)
AU - Jolijn A. M. Erven
AU - Zoé Robinet Guyet
AU - Louis L’Hôte
AU - Valeria Mattiangeli
AU - Eva Fernández-Domínguez
AU - Geordie Laidlaw
AU - Rafael M. Martínez Sánchez
AU - Blas Ramos Rodríguez
AU - Maria Herrero-Otal
AU - Pedro Henríquez Valido
AU - José Antonio Lozano Rodríguez
AU - The VarGoats consortium
AU - Daniel G. Bradley
AU - Kevin G. Daly
AU - Francisco Martínez-Sevilla
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0358468
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358468
AB - Advances in ancient DNA research have expanded the range of materials from which genetic information can be recovered, enabling the analysis of atypical materials. These often preserve both host and exogenous DNA, for example due to handling or native microbes, offering a window into past diversity. Here we report one such exceptional material: a well-preserved goat leather specimen from Cueva de los Murciélagos (Albuñol, Spain), associated with an Early Neolithic context. Archaeozoological analyses show clear evidence of tanning and anthropogenic modification of the skin, while radiocarbon dating confirms it to be ~ 7,250−7,000 years old. We generated genome-wide data from the leather (Murciélagos1) and demonstrated that it derives from a domestic goat of European ancestry. Comparisons with modern goats show highest affinity to the Bermeya breed from northern Spain, demonstrating genetic connectivity in goat herds from the Neolithic to present day Iberia. We additionally recover fragmented DNA from the leather deriving from human and canid sources, the former likely reflecting handling/wearing of the leather and the latter indicating post-depositional disturbance. Murciélagos1 represents one of the oldest nuclear genome data from organic remains outside of high altitude, high latitude regions, and demonstrates the value of ancient DNA analysis in exceptional cases of organic preservation.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -