An archaeogenetic investigation provides fresh insights into the secluded medieval settlement of Las Gobas located in northern Spain. In addition to revealing aspects of isolation and inbreeding, the research team has detected the variola virus, which could help clarify how smallpox made its way to the Iberian Peninsula.
An archaeogenetic investigation provides fresh insights into the secluded medieval settlement of Las Gobas located in northern Spain. In addition to revealing aspects of isolation and inbreeding, the research team has detected the variola virus, which could help clarify how smallpox made its way to the Iberian Peninsula.
Researchers from Sweden and Spain have carried out an extensive archaeogenetic study of a community that existed on the frontier of the northern Christian kingdoms and Al-Andalus during the early Medieval era. This period was characterized by religious rivalry, power struggles, and significant human movement, all of which played a role in shaping modern Europe.
The study, published in the journal Science Advances, concentrated on Las Gobas, a rural area in Burgos province in northern Spain, close to the village of Laño. This community thrived from the mid-6th to the 11th century and is distinguished by its church and habitable areas cut into caves. Evidence of violence, likely from sword attacks, has been found in some of the buried remains. The excavation included 41 burials, with 39 undergoing archaeogenetic testing.
Led by Ricardo RodrÃguez Varela from the Centre for Palaeogenetics (CPG)* in Stockholm, this interdisciplinary study combined genetic, archaeological, and historical data to illustrate the presence of an isolated, endogamous community in northern Iberia that persisted through centuries of chaotic regional events.
“Our research shows that this community remained fairly isolated for at least five centuries,” stated RodrÃguez Varela. Even though Las Gobas is situated just north of territories under Islamic control, “we discovered comparatively low levels of North African and Middle Eastern ancestry when contrasted with other medieval residents of the Iberian Peninsula. We also did not see a significant rise in these ancestries following the Islamic conquest of Iberia,” he noted.
Zoé Pochon, also from CPG, pointed out the identification of various lesser-known pathogens in the human remains from Las Gobas. “For instance, Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, a bacterium that causes skin infections through exposure to open wounds, typically contaminates humans from domestic animals, indicating that animal husbandry was crucial for this community.”
She also uncovered the presence of the variola virus, the agent responsible for smallpox, in an individual from a more recent burial. This particular strain bears similarity to those found in Scandinavia, Germany, and Russia, highlighting the widespread prevalence of smallpox across Europe during the Middle Ages.
Anders Götherström, the senior author of the study and a fellow researcher at CPG, underscored the thoroughness of the investigation: “It’s incredible how much data we were able to compile about this group through our archaeogenetic research.” He elaborated, “An endogamous community, familiar with violence, evidently established itself in Las Gobas around the 6th or 7th century. By the 10th century, it seems smallpox had an impact on Las Gobas, likely spreading through Europe rather than through Islamic pathways, which was the prior assumption regarding smallpox’s entry into Iberia.”
This study offers valuable perspectives on the intricate social, genetic, and health-related aspects of a long-isolated community in early Medieval Spain.
* The Centre for Palaeogenetics (CPG) is a collaborative effort between Stockholm University and the Swedish Museum of Natural History. The center aims to unite researchers from various fields like biology, archaeology, and geology in a state-of-the-art research facility focused on ancient DNA studies.
