.jpg) Speleothems in the cave | |
  location in Romania | |
| Alternative name | Peștera Muierii |
|---|---|
| Location | Baia de Fier,Gorj County, Romania |
| Coordinates | 45°11′31″N23°45′13″E / 45.19194°N 23.75361°E /45.19194; 23.75361 |
| Type | multi-chamberedkarstic cave |
| History | |
| Periods | Paleolithic |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1951–1953, 1955 |
| Archaeologists | Constantin S. Nicolăescu-Plopșor |
Peștera Muierilor, orPeștera Muierii (Romanian for "The Women's Cave", or "The Woman's Cave"), is an elaborate cave system located in theBaia de Fiercommune,Gorj County,Romania. It contains abundantcave bear remains, as well as a human skull. The skull isradiocarbon dated to 30,150 ± 800, indication an absolute age between 40,000 and 30,000BP.[1] It was uncovered in 1952. Alongside similar remains found inCioclovina Cave (fromc. 29,000 BP), they are among the most ancientearly modern humans inRomanian prehistory.
The human skull is that of a woman with obviousanatomically modern human traits, including a high forehead, small jaw, and smallsupraorbital ridges. Despite the tallcranial vault, theoccipital bone forms a distinct dome, a trait normally associated withNeanderthals. The largely intact facial bones indicate a woman with "rugged traits". This mosaic of features mirrors that seen in thePeștera cu Oase find, indicating possibleNeanderthal admixture or generally robust (archaic) traits (or both).[2] The early date makes the find referable to the earlyCro-Magnon group of finds.
On the basis ofradiocarbon dating and also the analysis of thearchaeological context, some researchers advanced the hypothesis of the association of these bones withCro-Magnons and theAurignacianarchaeological culture. Others mention the possibility that these findings could belong to a certain regional culture from theSouthern Carpathians, from the period of the FinalMiddle Paleolithic and EarlyUpper Paleolithic.
The remains of three individuals were found at the site.[3][4] In a 2016 study, researchers extracted DNA from two upper molars from one of the three individuals,Peștera Muierii 1 (35,000 BP), and confirmed that the individual was a fully modern human; mtDNA analysis shows thatPeștera Muierii 1 comes from a previously unknown basal mtDNAHaplogroup U6* lineage.[4] As Haplogroup U6 is today common inNorth Africa, researchers believe that the U6 lineage in North Africa was the result of migration from Western Asian back into North Africa.[4] Researchers also extracted DNA from thetemporal bone ofPeștera Muierii 2 (33,000 BP).[3] This individual also comes from basal mtDNA Haplogroup U6 and was confirmed as being a female.[3]
A full genome study conducted on the remains in 2021 revealed that the Peștera Muierii woman is related to modern Europeans, but not a direct ancestor. The woman also displays close genetic affinities to other Paleolithic Europeans, such asKostenki-14. It was also found that the Paleolithic European hunter-gatherers displayed higher genetic diversity than expected, "demonstrating that the severe loss of diversity occurred during and after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) rather than just during the out-of-Africa migration". In contrast, Post-LGM hunter-gatherers in Europe displayed the lowest "ever observed" genetic diversity. The woman is estimated to be around 34,000 years old and unrelated to the earlier 40,000 year oldPeștera cu Oase individuals.[5]
