# Ancient DNA recovered from a seven-thousand-year-old goat skin in a Spanish bat cave

- Published: 2026-11-09 11:37 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Biology & biochemistry
- Tags: ancient DNA, goat skin, Murciélagos cave, Bermeya goat, mitochondrial DNA, nuclear DNA, radiocarbon dating, Iberian Peninsula, University College Dublin, livestock herding history
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-c783f99f67ecb718f1f6959c_ancient_dna_recovered/

**Researchers led by Jolijn Erven of University College Dublin extracted mitochondrial and nuclear DNA from tanned skin found in southern Spain. It is close to the modern Bermeya goat breed.**

![Ancient DNA recovered from a seven-thousand-year-old goat skin in a Spanish bat cave](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/bf0b8553778622db.jpg)
*pravda.ru*

A team led by Jolijn Erven of University College Dublin recovered mitochondrial and nuclear DNA from a piece of skin found in a bat cave in southern Spain, according to pravda.ru. [1] Radiocarbon dating put the age of the fragment at seven thousand years. [1] The surface shows traces of tanning and punctures through which a thread probably once passed. [1]

The fragment is described as part of a garment or protective cover buried together with human remains. [1]

## Ancient DNA in a warm climate

DNA breaks down faster in a warm climate, and skin is a less favourable material than bone, where genetic material more often survives for millennia. [1] Despite heavy fragmentation, the researchers were able to read the genetic code. [1]

The analysis showed that the skin came from a domestic goat, not a wild Iberian ibex. [1] The ancient DNA is closely related to the modern Bermeya breed, which is kept in northern Spain. [1] According to the authors, this means a particular genetic lineage has been present on the pastures of the Iberian Peninsula for no less than seven thousand years and has survived to the present day. [1]

## Limits of the data

The ancient DNA contains no African genetic markers, whereas modern European goats often carry traces of African populations. [1] The researchers suggested that such exchange may have happened later, after the Neolithic. [1]

The sample is small and fragmented, and the set of samples is limited. [1] The absence of an African signal is therefore a limitation of the method and does not show that there were no contacts between Iberia and Africa. [1]

Francisco Martínez-Sevilla, one of the lead researchers, noted that the Murciélagos cave preserves organic material that is rarely found at comparable sites. [1] In his view, such finds make it possible to test models of how livestock herding developed. [1] A single skin cannot describe the history of a whole culture, but it links ancient and modern goats through a confirmed DNA sequence. [1]

## Sources

1. [pravda.ru](https://www.pravda.ru/news/science/2439828-ancient-goat-dna-spain-cave)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-c783f99f67ecb718f1f6959c_ancient_dna_recovered/