6,200-Year-Old Esparto Grass Sandals and Basketry Unearthed in Spanish Cave Shed Light on Prehistoric Culture

A team of scientists, led by researchers from the Universidad de Alcalá (UAH) and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), has discovered and analyzed the first direct evidence of basketry and the oldest sandals among hunter-gatherer societies and early farmers in southern Europe.

This site is one of the most emblematic archaeological sites of prehistoric times in the Iberian Peninsula due to the unique preservation of organic materials found there. The findings of the study are published in Science Advances.

World's Oldest Sandals

In the 19th century, miners in southern Spain discovered an ancient burial site in a cave containing 22 pairs of esparto grass sandals. Radiocarbon dating revealed they could be 6,200 years old, much older than similar footwear found worldwide.

An interdisciplinary team also analyzed 76 artifacts, including basketry, cords, mats, and a wooden mallet, made from wood, reeds, and esparto. Organic plant-based materials rarely survive thousands of years, offering valuable insights into ancient cultures. These sandals predate other ancient shoes worldwide and provide a unique glimpse into prehistoric footwear.

The discovery took place in the Cueva de los Murciélagos, "Cave of the Bats" in English, which had various uses over the years, from storing bat guano for fertilization to housing goats and later serving as a mining site.

Miners inadvertently unearthed the burial chamber containing partially mummified corpses, along with numerous artifacts. These items included ceramics, flint tools, bone awls, ornamental shells, and even a gold diadem, in addition to the plant-based artifacts.

The sandals found in the cave come in two styles: a simple design without apparent laces and a central core style with fibers protruding from the base, possibly used for securing the sandal to the foot.

The study confirmed the Neolithic dating of these sandals, which are unique and represent the earliest and most widespread assemblage of prehistoric footwear in the Iberian Peninsula and Europe, setting them apart from other ancient shoes found globally.

Earliest Evidence of Basketry

Researchers noted that the carbon-14 dating results revealed that the objects in the cave date back to the early and middle Holocene period, ranging from 9,500 to 6,200 years ago.

This discovery represents the first direct evidence of basketry created by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer societies in southern Europe. The findings also include various organic tools associated with early Neolithic farming communities.

The study challenges previous assumptions about early human communities, highlighting the sophistication and complexity of their craftsmanship. The esparto grass artifacts are considered the oldest and best-preserved set of plant fiber materials in southern Europe, showcasing the technological diversity and treatment of raw materials mastered by prehistoric communities since at least 9,500 years ago during the Mesolithic period.

The research used advanced accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating combined with Bayesian modeling to determine the age of the objects, revealing that some of the basketry dates back to both the Early Holocene hunter-gatherer population (around 7500-4200 BCE) and Middle Holocene farmers.

Francisco Martínez Sevilla, a researcher at the University of Alcalá, noted that this discovery provides insight into the last hunter-gatherer societies of the early Holocene, challenging simplistic assumptions about human communities before the advent of agriculture in southern Europe. The Cueva de los Murciélagos is now recognized as a unique site in Europe for the study of prehistoric organic materials.

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