Stone Age man ate mushrooms as part of their diet, a study on ancient tooth plaque has revealed.

Anthropologists studying the remains of a prehistoric woman nicknamed The Red Lady of El Mirón have found spores of several mushroom species embedded in her teeth.

Discovered in an elaborate grave in the El Mirón cave in Cantabria, Spain, the remains are thought to belong to a 35 to 40-year-old woman who was buried around 18,700 years ago.

The images above show some of the microscopic fungal spores from grilled fungi (left) and bolete fungi (right) that the researchers found trapped inside the hardened dental plaque on the Red Lady of El Mirón's teeth

The study now provides the oldest evidence yet that mushrooms were eaten by early humans and helps to shed new light on the mysterious Red Lady.

Her body was found in 2010 in the cave stained in sparkling red paint and adorned in yellow flowers with an engraved stone nearby.

WHO WAS 'THE RED LADY'? The Red Lady's remains were uncovered in 2010 during excavations of the El Mirón Cave in Cantabria. After discovering a series of individual bones, researchers unearthed a mandible and tibia that suggested a full skeleton was placed towards the rear of the cave. Radiocarbon dating suggests this burial took place 18,700 years ago and that the female was aged between 35 and 40 when she was entombed. She was 'robust, relatively tall, [and] apparently healthy', explained the researchers , and would have lived in the 'cold, open environment of Oldest Dryas.' Herself and her peers would have used stone tools, needles made from bones and projectile tips fashioned from the antlers of the deer and the cave would have been used for shelter and living quarters. They would have hunted for ibex and red deer, fished for salmon and ate plants, including some seeds and mushrooms. When the remains were first uncovered they were stained with a sparking red material, later found to be red ochre from a haematite crystal. This has since faded. A engraved tombstone was found nearby. The pigment and tombstone has led researchers to speculate she was a person of status or authority and was ritualistically buried in such a way to oversee her subjects. Advertisement

Her robust skeleton, which bore few signs of disease, and her elaborate funeral suggests she may have been of high status or even buried in a sacrificial ritual.

Now the research looking at the dental calculus - hardened plaque - has helped to shed some light on her diet.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, found her teeth bore the remains of plant pollen, fungi and animals.

They found microscopic evidence that the woman had been eating sponge capped, bolete mushrooms and gilled mushrooms from the Agaric group.

The researchers also found her teeth bore little signs of decay, suggesting she ate few carbohydrates.

Robert Power, who led the research, said: 'These types of microremains show that the individuals at El Mirón consumed a variety of plants from different environments, as well as other foods, including possibly bolete mushrooms.

'This finding at El Mirón Cave could be the earliest indication of human mushroom use or consumption, which until this point has been unidentified in the Palaeolithic.'

Agaric muchrooms include the distinctive red and white spotted fly agaric, which is poisonous but also has halucinogenic qualities.

However, the group includes many common forms of mushroom that are harmless.

Bolete mushrooms include Boletus edulis, which is also called porchini.

There is some evidence from neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Piedmont in the Italian Alps that suggest psychotropic mushrooms were used in rituals.

The Red Lady's remains were first uncovered in 2010 during excavations of El Mirón Cave, which lies between Santander and Bilbao.

This plant fragment was discovered in the hardened plaque on the teeth of the Red Lady of El Mirón

The Red Lady was discovered in the El Mirón Cave in 2000 at a site that has been excavated since 1996

Haematite comes from the Greek for 'blood' and red ochre (pictured) is often used as a pigment, particularly in cave paintings but the Red Lady was found covered in the substance when her remains were discovered

After discovering a range of individual bones, researchers from the University of New Mexico led by Lawrence Straus, unearthed a mandible and tibia that suggested a full skeleton was placed towards the rear of the cave.

When the remains were first uncovered they were stained with a sparking red material, later found to be red ochre from a haematite crystal which as has since faded.

Haematite comes from the Greek word for 'blood' and it is often used as a pigment, particularly in cave paintings.

It is not known why the Red Lady was painted in this way, and the researchers are unsure whether her body or clothes were covered in the pigment.

However, they have speculated it was likely a burial ritual.

In Mayan practices, for example, bodies were covered in a similar way using blue pigment to signify they were sacrifices to the gods.

The entrance to the El Mirón Cave (above) is located in the mountainous region of eastern Cantabria in Spain

The Red Lady was found in an elaborate grave (pictured) and is thought to have been buried 18,700 years ago

Anthropologists who have studied the Red Lady's remains believe she was buried in a tightly bundled fetal position on her left side with her chest facing the cave wall and her back towards a large stone block

The fact she was buried within in what appears to be living quarters has suggested she was instead a person of status or authority and was buried in such a way to oversee her subjects. A primative tombstone found nearby also hints at this.

During the excavation a large rock was found that reportedly fell from the ceiling and had been engraved with straight lines.

Among these engravings the researchers spotted a V-shaped motif that they suggest represents a pubic triangle, while another has been speculatively referred to as a schematic hand with fingers.

There is some evidence that the people living in the cave at the time ate large amounts of meat from red deer and ibex but there are few signs of what role plants played in their diet.

Mr Power and Dr Amanda Henry, whose work is published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, examined samples of the plaque from the Red Lady's teeth in an attempt to learn more about her.

They found chemical signitures that indicate she may have eaten seeds, roots and other plants with low levels of starch.

The Fly agaric (above) is one of the most easily recognised gill mushrooms which formed the Red Lady's diet

The researchers also found the remains of pollen from pine trees and spores from the fungi.

It is possible the fungi had been used to help flavour food or as a medicine.

The Tryolean Iceman 'Otzi' - who lived around 3,000 years ago - was found to be carrying several types of fungi.

Writing in the journal, Mr Power and his colleagues said their findings had shed new light on prehistoric diet of the Red Lady.

They said: 'The types of microremains show that the individuals at El Mirón consumed a variety of plants, including seeds and underground storage organs, as well as other foods, including possibly bolete mushrooms.

'These findings suggest that plant and plant-like foods were parts of her diet, supplementing staples derived from animal foods.'