Spain

Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of a cave dwelling that was constructed around 16,800 years ago by prehistoric humans.

The dwelling was found in the La Garma cave complex in the autonomous community of Cantabria, northern Spain, the local government announced in a statement.

The new discovery is “one of the best preserved Paleolithic dwellings” in the world, according to the Government of Cantabria. The Paleolithic, also referred to as the Old Stone Age, is a period in human prehistory that extends from the earliest use of stone tools more than 3 million years ago to around 12,000 years ago.

Continues: newsweek.com/archaeologists-find-16800-year-old-cave-dwelling-one-best-1850021

Archaeologists says prehistoric site in Huelva province could be one of largest of its kind in Europe

A huge megalithic complex of more than 500 standing stones has been discovered in southern Spain that could be one of the largest in Europe, archaeologists have said.

The stones were discovered on a plot of land in Huelva, a province flanking the southernmost part of Spain’s border with Portugal, near the Guadiana River.

Spanning about 600 hectares (1,500 acres), the land had been earmarked for an avocado plantation. Before granting the permit the regional authorities requested a survey in light of the site’s possible archaeological significance. The survey revealed the presence of the stones.

More: theguardian.com/science/2022/aug/18/megalithic-complex-standing-stones-discovered-spain?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Red markings on a stalagmite dome in a cave system in southern Spain were created by Neanderthals more than 60,000 years ago, a new study says.

The staining was applied by a process of splattering and blowing about 20,000 years before modern humans arrived in Europe, the research suggests.

An earlier study attributing the markings to the extinct cousins of modern humans was questioned.

Some experts argued the staining in the Cueva de Ardales occurred naturally.

But a new study published in the journal PNAS supports the view that the red ochre pigments discovered in three caves in the Iberian Peninsula are a form of Neanderthal cave art.

It states that the deposits stand out from other natural materials sampled in the caves because of their unusual colours and textures.

More: bbc.com/news/world-europe-58070141

Researchers in Murcia find exquisite objects at women’s graves later used as sites for elite warrior burials

A burial site found in Spain – described by archaeologists as one of the most lavish bronze age graves discovered to date in Europe – has sparked speculation that women may have been among the rulers of a highly stratified society that flourished on the Iberian peninsula until 1550BC.

Since 2013, a team of more than a dozen researchers have been investigating the site of La Almoloya in the southern Spanish region of Murcia.

Home to the El Argar, a society that was among the first to utilise bronze, build complex urban centres and develop into a state organisation, the site is part of a vast territory that at its peak stretched across 35,000 sq km.

Research published on Thursday in the journal Antiquity has documented one of the site’s most tantalising finds: a man and a woman buried in a large ceramic jar, both of whom died close together in the mid-17th century BC.

More:
theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/11/bronze-age-burial-site-in-spain-suggests-women-were-among-rulers

In 1963, the Spanish government under Francisco Franco built the Valdecañas Reservoir, which brought water and electricity to underdeveloped parts of western Spain. However, the creation of the reservoir flooded some inhabited areas as well as large stone (megalithic) monuments. After 50 years of being submerged, one of these ancient monuments—the Dolmen of Guadalperal—has resurfaced due to dry, hot conditions in 2019.

More information at https://allthatsinteresting.com/dolmen-de-guadalperal.

elpais.com/elpais/2017/05/12/inenglish/1494584904_820305.html

“Death caught up with Elba on a Spanish hillside 9,300 years ago. She is thought to have been following her herd of aurochs, an extinct breed of large cattle, along an ancestral trail that is now a paved road. In fact, it is the same road that Google suggests as the best route between the localities of O Courel and Pedrafita do Cebreiro, in Galicia’s Lugo province, in northwestern Spain.

Her herd was made up of three aurochs: an enormous male with massive horns and two younger specimens. It might have been early spring or early winter, and the ground was covered by a blanket of snow thin enough to make for easy walking, yet thick enough to conceal some of the geographical features lying beneath.

As a result, she did not see the hole that had opened up in the earth. All four of them fell into the gap created by the collapse of the roof of a cave known today as Cova do Uro, or Aurochs’ Cave in the regional Galician language .... ”

Paleolithic-era drawings found in Axturra cave are in ‘Champions League’ of cave art sites, team leader says

Spanish archaeologists say they have discovered an exceptional set of Paleolithic-era cave drawings that could rank among the best in a country that already boasts some of the world’s most important cave art.

Chief site archaeologist Diego Garate said that an estimated 70 drawings were found on ledges 300m (1,000 ft) underground in the Atxurra cave in the northern Basque region. He described the site as being in “the Champions League” of cave art and among the top 10 sites in Europe. The engravings and paintings feature horses, buffalo, goats and deer, dating back 12,500-14,500 years.

More: theguardian.com/science/2016/may/27/spanish-archaeologists-discover-cave-art-axturra-paleolithic

I’m not exactly sure why this is back in the news today – I’m guessing there’s a report or paper somewhere that’s just been released. The paintings are said to be amongst the best in Europe.
theguardian.com/science/2016/may/27/spanish-archaeologists-discover-cave-art-axturra-paleolithic

(The discovery of the paintings is mentioned in Goffik’s 2011 post below.)

We all rely on maps, be they the sat nav in your car or a traditional A-Z, and archaeologists have found that our ancestors were no different.

More info :

dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1204539/Oldest-map-western-Europe-engraved-14-000-year-old-chunk-rock.html

(knowing my luck I’d still get lost!!!!!!!)

Article at New Scientist covers the potential risk to the rock art paintings here if the caves are opened to the public to help local tourism.

newscientist.com/article/dn21020-ancient-cave-paintings-threatened-by-tourist-plans.html

“Paintings depicting horses and human hands made by prehistoric humans around 25,000 years ago have been discovered in a cave in northern Spain, regional officials said on Wednesday.

The red paintings, found by chance by archaeologists looking for signs of ancient settlements, were made around the same time as the Altamira Cave paintings -- some of the world’s best prehistoric paintings discovered in northern Spain in 1879.

“It was a chance finding,” archaeologist Diego Garate told Reuters.

“Although they were difficult to spot because they are badly deteriorated, our experienced eye helped us to identify them.”

Experts will further explore the caves for evidence of prehistoric utensils or tools, officials said.

The first homo sapiens arrived in small groups in northern Spain around 35,000 years ago.

They cohabited for a time with the last of the Neanderthals and then developed a significant culture known as the Upper Palaeolithic, producing stone blade tools and decorating cave walls.”

uk.reuters.com/article/2011/05/04/arts-us-spain-caves-idUKTRE7436P520110504

Archaeologists in Spain have unearthed the remains of a possible family of 12 Neanderthals who were killed 49,000 years ago.

Markings on the bones show the unmistakeable signs of cannibal activity, say the researchers, with the group having probably been killed by their peers.

bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12049854