The largest Copper Age tomb in Europe is offering new clues about the health challenges faced by prehistoric children nearly 5,000 years ago. Researchers studying skeletons from the Camino del Molino burial site in southeastern Spain found widespread evidence of respiratory disease and chronic illness among young members of the community.
The study, led by Sonia Díaz-Navarro and published in the International Journal of Paleopathology, examined the remains of children and adolescents buried at the massive collective tomb. Researchers say the findings suggest that respiratory infections, possibly including tuberculosis, were a major cause of illness and death during the Copper Age.
A remarkable prehistoric burial site
Camino del Molino, located in Caravaca de la Cruz in Spain’s Murcia region, is considered the largest known collective Copper Age burial in Europe. The tomb dates to the third millennium BCE and contains the remains of at least 1,348 people. Researchers estimate that more than 400 of those individuals were children or adolescents.
The burial structure consists of a circular underground chamber carved into stone. Radiocarbon dating shows it was used over many centuries between roughly 2970 BCE and 2250 BCE.
Among the remains, archaeologists recovered 48 well-preserved skeletons of non-adults. These rare articulated skeletons allowed researchers to study disease patterns across entire bodies rather than isolated bones.
Signs of illness across childhood
Researchers found evidence of disease in nearly every child examined. About 92% of the individuals showed at least one skeletal abnormality linked to illness, while almost 90% displayed porous bone lesions. More than two-thirds showed bone changes commonly associated with respiratory infections.
The team identified changes in skulls, leg bones, ribs, vertebrae and pelvic bones. Many of these lesions have been linked in previous studies to chronic respiratory infections and inflammatory diseases. Some are also associated with early-stage tuberculosis.
Researchers found that children with porous bone lesions were more than 11 times more likely to show additional signs of respiratory infection. The strong overlap suggests these conditions were connected and may have resulted from long-term disease stress.
Young children faced the greatest risk
The study identified two age groups that appear to have been especially vulnerable. The first included children between 1 and 4 years old. The second involved adolescents between 10 and 14 years old. Both groups showed high rates of skeletal changes linked to disease.
Researchers noted that every child in the youngest age category displayed certain skull changes associated with respiratory infections. This finding mirrors modern medical evidence showing that young children are particularly vulnerable to severe respiratory diseases.
The older adolescent group also showed high frequencies of lesions connected to chronic inflammation and infection. Researchers suggest that hormonal changes, social interactions and increased exposure to pathogens may have contributed to disease risk during this stage of life.
Clues to life and health in Copper Age Iberia
The researchers caution that no single bone lesion can definitively diagnose a specific disease. However, the combination of multiple skeletal changes across the same individuals points to recurring respiratory illnesses within the community.
The findings provide one of the clearest pictures yet of childhood health in prehistoric Iberia. They also suggest that respiratory infections may have played a larger role in Copper Age mortality than previously understood.
Researchers believe future studies using ancient DNA could help identify the exact pathogens responsible. Such analyses may determine whether tuberculosis was already affecting children in the region nearly 5,000 years ago.
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