Famous rock art cave in Spain was used by ancient humans for more than 50,000 years

Phys Org
Wed, 01 Jun 2022 18:40 UTC

A cave in southern Spain was used by ancient humans as a canvas for artwork and as a burial place for over 50,000 years, according to a study published June 1, 2022, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by José Ramos-Muñoz of the University of Cadiz, Spain, and colleagues.

Cueva de Ardales, a cave in Málaga, Spain, is famous for containing more than 1,000 paintings and engravings made by prehistoric people, as well as artifacts and human remains. However, the nature of human usage of this cave has not been well-understood. In this study, the authors present the results of the first excavations in this cave, which shed light on the history of human culture in the Iberian Peninsula.

A combination of radiometric dating and analysis of remains and artifacts within the cave provide evidence that the site's first occupants were likely Neanderthals more than 65,000 years ago. Modern humans arrived later, around 35,000 years ago, and used the cave sporadically until as recently as the beginning of the Copper Age. The oldest rock art in the cave consists of abstract signs such as dots, finger tips, and hand-stencils created with red pigment, while later artwork depicts figurative paintings such as animals. Human remains indicate the use of the cave as a burial place in the Holocene, but evidence of domestic activities is extremely poor, suggesting humans were not living in the cave.

© Ramos-Muñoz et al., 2022, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Lithics from the Middle Paleolithic layers of zone 3. A: Quartzite core or heavy duty tool, B: Blade, C: Levallois flake, D: Sidescraper.

These results confirm the importance of Cueva de Ardales as a site of high symbolic value. This site provides an incredible history of human activity in Spain, and along with similar sites — there are more than 30 other caves in the region with similar paintings — makes the Iberian Peninsula a key locality for investigating the deep history of European culture.

The authors add: "Our research presents a well-stratified series of more than 50 radiometric dates in Cueva de Ardales that confirm the antiquity of Paleolithic art from more than 58,000 years ago. It also confirms that the cave was a place of special activities linked to art, as numerous fragments of ochre were discovered in the Middle Paleolithic levels."

Reader Comments

Winternights3 · 2022-06-02T05:34:35Z

Where's said pictures of what they are supposedly researching and of course the primitive tool narrative rears it's ugly head again 🤭😴😴😴😴😴

And it ain't Art, a labelling exercise by those who have you believe in such rubbish.

Sim · 2022-06-02T06:56:06Z

Winternights3 you're right, it isn't "art" but has purpose and meaning we can never truly know. Do you have an hypothesis?

Winternights3 · 2022-06-02T18:32:38Z

Sim There is evidence to support the claim that symbols engraved or painted on to different surfaces exist globally and therefore could not be considered as random, art or attributed to local customs.

They are to be considered as a recognised language, universally used to give evidence of past events and more importantly, they are directional signposts.

Academia has lead humanity/mankind up the proverbial garden path with its stories of monkeys, men and stone age etc.

There has been MANY civilisations of mix kind that inhabitanted Earth, they have all left their marks. There's engravings globally that were not carved, the stone was melted, technology not known for its time?

The earliest markings are smeared on to surfaces, made up of foraged materials made into a primitive paint, these are records of encounters and also reflect habits, animals and customs of that time.

The earliest markings found reflect a very primitive existence, a dumbed down era that showed a total lack or understanding of the civilisations and their advanced technologies that went before them.

Markings are not " Art " , they are statements, signposts and depictions of a way of life, NASA did exactly what others had done before, they attached a plaque that was placed on board the 1972 Pioneer 10. This Act was not " Art ", no, it was a way of recording

a message for others to find.

Christian83 · 2022-06-02T14:08:29Z

The oldest rock art in the cave consists of abstract signs such as dots, finger tips, and hand-stencils created with red pigment, while later artwork depicts figurative paintings such as animals.

This cave would be ideal to escape any nova events, or electro events. Those abstract images could be the giant filaments of plasma or dots of plasma the people saw, and therefore could in fact be warnings of these catastrophic events for future generations.

These are cyclical events on a planetary scale, hence all the similar petroglyphs found all over the world. [Link] [Link] [Link]

Protectron77 · 2022-06-06T00:58:35Z

The oldest rock art in the cave consists of abstract signs such as dots, finger tips, and hand-stencils created with red pigment, while later artwork depicts figurative paintings such as animals.
This cave would be ideal to escape any nova events, or electro events. Those abstract images could be the giant filaments of plasma or dots of plasma the people saw, and therefore could in fact be warnings of these catastrophic events for future generations.

These are cyclical events on a planetary scale, hence all the similar petroglyphs found all over the world. [Link] [Link] [Link]

Torrential acid rain, hailstones the size of cannonballs splitting trees in half, category 6+ hurricanes and tornadoes, thunderstorms reaching well into space, balls of fire falling from the sky, earthquakes tearing the land asunder. And the resulting floods and landslides. Not to mention wildfires creating their own weather systems scorching the Earth. Portents in the sky, volcanic winter and a flickering magnetosphere making the sun into a killer nuke.

So yes, the same thoughts have struck me as well. I'll double down and add the so-called "burial mounds" and similar structures to the list of escape rooms that communities built to save themselves from the wrath of the sky.

Christian83 · 2022-06-06T08:37:16Z

Protectron77 I’ve read that there are secret caves in the Grand Canyon too which are off limits, even has a no fly zone. Pyramids and hieroglyphics are purposely hidden by the federal government, it’s a crime it really is. [Link]
Re burial mounds, aren’t they off limits to explore as well? Which adds credence to your theory.

Anyone lose a bunch of kangaroos? They were last seen jumping all over the New York's Justice Department and the DA's office.

Robotech

The people who should care, dont. Lets all move on. Unless this clearly dead equine, needs more whipping.

3.1415926535

The Globalists in Government, will ruin more lives without anyone caring about any of it. Its over, move on to the next Globalist ruse. If people...

exercise and good diet : the best medicine

Giant Meteor 24

A symbolic event, perhaps ? While only "historic", it is still a stock exchange.

codis

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Famous rock art cave in Spain was used by ancient humans for more than 50,000 years

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