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Date Published: 13/05/2022
ARCHIVED - Hikers discover Paleolithic paintings in Malaga cave believed to be up to 60,000-years-old
The discovery in Antequera has been hailed "one of the most important archaeological finds in recent decades"
Two hikers walking in a natural area of Antequera in Malaga province stumbled across what appeared to be cave paintings late last year, prompting a five-month Historical Heritage investigation which has uncovered a Paleolithic site believed to be between 30,000 and 60,000-years-old.
The extent of the discovery close to the town centre, which includes a Copper Age burial site, was revealed this week by Antequera Mayor, Manolo Baron, and delegate of Historical Heritage, Ana Cebrian, who claimed it is "one of the most important archaeological finds in recent decades in the province of Malaga and the oldest traces of human presence in the municipality".
In particular, experts have highlighted a panel that preserves Paleolithic graphic manifestations made with red pigment.
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The panel is located on the front of a large dolomitic block tilted, so that the speleothems and signs drawn, originally vertical or subvertical, now appear horizontally.
This type of non-figurative graphic motifs, where red pigments obtained from iron oxide and consisting of linear strokes and punctuations made with the fingers or blown (sprayed or spat) on the walls of natural cavities, have previously been detected in caves in Nerja, Ardales, Higuerón and Victoria (Rincón de la Victoria), Calamorro (Benalmádena), Pecho Redondo (Marbella) and La Pileta (Benaoján).
"However, the recent finds could be as old as 60,000 years, which places them in the phases prior to the well-known European Paleolithic figurative art," according to historical expert Cebrian, who added: "The site has an incalculable patrimonial value and would trace the cultural expression of the first inhabitants of these lands back tens of thousands of years."
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Image: Ayuntamiento de Antequera
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