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Map of Paleolithic cave art sites in the Franco-Cantabrian region.. The Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain (Cueva de Altamira y arte rupestre paleolítico del Norte de España) is a grouping of 18 caves of northern Spain, which together represent the apogee of Upper Paleolithic cave art in Europe between 35,000 and 11,000 years ago (Aurignacian, Gravettian, Solutrean ...
Altamira is located in the Franco-Cantabrian region and in 1985 was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as a key location of the Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain. [4] The cave can no longer be visited, for conservation reasons, but there are replicas of a section at the site and elsewhere.
The National Museum and Research Center of Altamira (Spanish: Museo Nacional y Centro de Investigación de Altamira), also known as Altamira Museum (Spanish: Museo de Altamira), is a center dedicated to the conservation of, research into, and the sharing of information about the cave of Altamira in Santillana del Mar (), Spain, named a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain. The Cave of Altamira is located near Santillana del Mar.This cave, called the "Sistine Chapel of Quaternary", is relatively small (270 m (890 ft)) and contains the rock paintings of sixteen bison, several depictions of deer, the largest of which is 2.25 m (7.4 ft) tall and of horses.
The Altamira cave, now famous for its unique collection of prehistoric art, was well known to local people, but had not been given much attention until 1868, when it was "discovered" by the hunter Modesto Cubillas Pérez. Sautuola started exploring the caves in 1875.
The El Castillo cave contains decorations in red ochre in the forms of hand stencils dated to about 35,000. One red disk in El Castillo has been dated to before 40,000 years ago in a 2012 study, making it the oldest known dated cave decoration. [1] The Cave of El Castillo was discovered in 1903 by Hermilio Alcalde del Río.
As of 2016 the entrance to the cave system leads through La Garma A, [4] as the only entrance into the cave system. [1] It lies at 80 m (262 ft) above sea level and has an extensive stratigraphy, containing Aurignacian, Gravettian, Solutrean, and Magdalenian layers, as well as Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, and Middle Ages layers.
A bison in Altamira. When Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola's daughter María discovered the paintings in Altamira and Sautuola, together with professor Vilanova, published their findings in 1880, Cartailhac was one of the leaders of the scientists who, suddenly facing a revolutionary change in the view of the prehistoric man, ridiculed these paintings at the 1880 Prehistorical Congress in Lisbon.