Dietary inferences through dental microwear and isotope analyses of the Lower Magdalenian individual from El Mirón Cave (Cantabria, Spain)

• We infer diet in the Red Lady through dental microwear and isotopic analysis.
• Results from both independent approaches are consistent.
• Lower Magdalenian individual form El Mirón Cave consumed a mixed diet, implying a generalized exploitation of the environment.

Dietary habits are inferred from dental microwear and isotope analyses of the Magdalenian human individual from the site of El Mirón, dated to 15,460 ± 40 BP. The pattern of dental microwear was established on the buccal surface of the lower fourth premolar and on the bottom of facet 9 on the occlusal surface of the lower third molar. The results obtained through analysis of different surfaces are consistent and indicate a mixed diet for this Lower Magdalenian individual, including meat, aquatic resources and vegetables. These results are in agreement with those obtained through isotope analysis. This implies a generalized exploitation of the environment as has been previously established in other Late Upper Palaeolithic specimens.