In the hot and dry climate of southern Spain, a 7,000-year-old piece of goat leather has survived to tell a story beyond its material use. Preserved within it are genetic clues to the animal it once belonged to, leading historians and archaeologists to understand the livestock of the time, domestication of goats, and how humans and animals lived alongside one another thousands of years ago.According to a research paper published in PLOS ONE on November 4, 2026, researchers analysed a preserved goat leather specimen recovered from Cueva de los Murciélagos, a cave in Albuñol, Granada, in southern Spain. The study, titled ‘Genetic analysis of 7,000 year old preserved goat leather from Cueva de los Murciélagos (Albuñol, Spain), was led by Jolijn A. M. Erven and involved researchers from several institutions, including University College Dublin and Durham University.Unlike bones and other harder remains, materials such as animal skin, clothing and wooden objects are especially vulnerable to deterioration over long periods. However, the conditions inside Cueva de los Murciélagos allowed several such objects to survive through a process of natural desiccation.The leather has been recovered as two fragments found together in a deeper section of the cave. Researchers believe that both pieces belonged to the same animal, given the similar thickness, texture and other physical features. The findings have also revealed that it had gone through major processing. While one side got hair, the other showed signs of tanning, along with four perforations that appeared to have been deliberately made by humans.Radiocarbon dating placed the specimen between approximately 7,246 and 7,008 calibrated years before present, corresponding to the Early Neolithic period. Since the cave has also revealed human remains and other objects associated with prehistoric practices, researchers believe that the leather may have been present there as part of a burial assemblage. It could have been used as clothing, a covering for the deceased or another burial object, although findings have not helped arrive at one conclusive answer.
What doe the ancient DNA tell us?
While the physical condition of the leather offered clues about how it had been prepared, its genetic material opened up another avenue of research. The scientists extracted ancient DNA from the specimen, which they named Murciélagos1, to establish whether it came from a domesticated goat or a wild animal, such as the Iberian ibex.The results have examined the skin to belong to a doemstic dog with potentially a european ancestry, a signifcant finding, because the genetic history of early Iberian goat populations has remained relatively less understood compared with that of some other domesticated animals. The researchers were able to recover both mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA, despite the considerable fragmentation that occurs in genetic material over thousands of years.The team then compared the ancient specimen with genetic clues gathered from modern goat populations. Among the breeds examined, the closest genetic affinity was found with the Bermeya, a breed from northern Spain. Other breeds, including the Swiss Valais Copper Neck and the French Poitevine, also showed considerable genetic similarities. The relationship does not mean that the modern Bermeya breed is an unchanged descendant of this particular Neolithic goat. Rather, it suggests a degree of genetic continuity between ancient goat populations and breeds that still exist in the region, to this day In other words, some of the genetic connections found among present-day livestock may have roots stretching back thousands of years.
DNA that tells another part of the story
The recovery of the goat DNA, is only one strand of the story. As humans were involved in processing the goat leather, traces of their DNA, may have also been left on the said leather, esepcially of those who handled it or perhaps even wore it. But with researchers having discovered canid DNA material, it is also worth considering that perhaps some domesticated animal, dog or perhaps even a wild animal may have entered the cave and come in contact of the leather.
(Image credit: Canva)
But why couldn’t the researchers identify the humans. The answer to this question lies in fragmented genetic material. DNA naturally breaks down over time. After thousands of years, the genetic material recovered from archaeological objects can be extremely damaged and incomplete. In this case, the human DNA is insufficient to establish detailed information about the individuals who may have left it behind.Scientists could detect human genetic traces, but they could not use them to reliably establish the individuals’ identities or ancestry. Thus, the researchers are cautious about interpreting these findings.Recovering genetic information from preserved animal skin in a relatively warm, low-altitude region is particularly noteworthy, as DNA tends to deteriorate more rapidly in such environments. A piece of leather, once processed and used by an early community, has now offered researchers an opportunity to investigate animal management, the movement of livestock populations and the relationship between ancient and modern breeds.However, a more in-depth study of ancient specimens can unearth myriad connections between farming communities and livestock populations.
