Calpeia - the first Gibraltarian proves Neolithic people migrated to Andalucia

Calpeia, the first known Gibraltarian from 5400 BC was found in a cave at Europa Point Gibraltar in 1996. She proves Neolithic people migrated to Andalucia

By Nick Nutter | Updated 11 Sep 2022 | Gibraltar | History | Login to add to YOUR Favourites or Read Later

This article has been visited 8,807 times

Calpeia – the first known Gibraltarian

In 1996, an archaeological team working on a cave burial site near Europa Point on Gibraltar found the human remains of a female. Using techniques that were not available in 1996, a team from the Gibraltar Museum extracted DNA from the remains, reconstructed the skull that had been damaged since her burial and then created a lifelike model based on 3D scans and the DNA results. The model was christened Calpeia and was unveiled by the Minister for Heritage Dr John Cortes on the 10th September 2019.

Calpeia Reborn

Reborn as it were, Calpeia has provided the team with a great deal of information. She was a female aged between 30 and 40 years, she had dark hair and dark eyes and she died about 5,400 BC. In addition, 10% of her genes were from the Mesolithic, hunter-gatherer, people that had inhabited the Iberian peninsula for thousands of years whilst 90% of her genes were from Anatolia in modern Turkey.

Where the Neolithic Started

It is thought that Neolithic practices started in the ‘Fertile Crescent’ in the Middle East about 10,000 BC and then spread out into Europe from the Anatolia region, reaching Andalucia in the 6th millennium BC. The Neolithic 'package' included the legumes and grains introduced into areas as well as the method by which they were grown, harvested and stored. There has always been some debate as to whether Neolithic practices were a ‘package’ that couriered across the landscape without involving the migration of humans or whether there was a migration of humans carrying the ‘package’ with them. In the latter case, archaeologists have pondered the question as to the degree of integration between Neolithic newcomers and pre-existing Mesolithic people.

Calpeia is helping to answer some of those questions although she is only one person and it is conceivable that her far distant ancestors were a very small group of Anatolians, perhaps only including one female, when they left Anatolia some thousands of years before Calpeia died.

Integration with Mesolithic People

However, whether a small group, one female or part of a full-blown migration, Calpeia does help to prove that descendants of the original Anatolians did carry the Neolithic package and that integration did take place between Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and the newcomers with their legumes and grain. The date the Neolithic arrived in Andalucia may have to be pushed back a little, 1,000 years does not seem long enough to replace 10% of the human genome.

Earliest Evidence of Neolithic in Andalucia

At the date of her death, 5,400 BC or thereabouts, there is no evidence of any agricultural activity in the Gibraltar area. To date, the earliest evidence of agriculture in Andalucia can be dated to about 6,400 BC so Calpeia was in the vanguard in that respect. From a study conducted by Dimas Martin Socas and others, in 2017, it appears that there was a small amount of agricultural activity in Andalucia between 6,400 BC and 5,300 BC and then a very rapid increase in activity after that.

Calpeia has much more to tell us.

The Gibraltar Team

The Gibraltar team consisted of Professor Clive Finlayson, Dr Geraldine Finlayson, Stewart Finlayson and Manuel Jaen Candón.

---

---