Altamira is a cave in Spain that preserves the cave paintings of the Upper Paleolithic era1. The cave is located near the city of Santillana del Mar and was used until approximately 12,000 BCE, when the entrance was blocked by a landslide. Recent research has shown that the drawings were made between 34,000 and 23,000 BCE.
Discovery of the Cave
The entrance to the cave was discovered in 1868 by a local hunter, Modest Cubillas Peras. His dog got stuck in the rocks, and in an attempt to free the animal, Modest discovered the entrance. He told the owner of the land, Count Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, about the cave. However, it was only in 1879 that the Count visited Altamira with his nine-year-old daughter, Maria. She was the one who saw the paintings on the wall and drew her father’s attention by shouting, “Look, daddy, bulls!”
The discovery of his daughter inspired Marcelino, who invited archaeologist Juan Vilanova Y Piera. Together, they conducted research and attributed the cave paintings to the Late Paleolithic era. In 1880, Juan and Marcelino released a small brochure in which they described their discovery and the paintings. However, the archaeologists faced condemnation from the scientific community. Other scientists believed that Marcelino had made the drawings himself and that they had no relation to the prehistoric era. The painted images in Altamira were perceived as a forgery. Several years after Marcelino’s death, similar paintings were discovered in other places, which dispelled the doubts of the scientific community. In 1902, Emile Cartailhac, Marcelino’s opponent, wrote an article titled “La grotte d’Altamira, Mea culpa d’un sceptique”, or “The Cave of Altamira, My Skeptic’s Mea Culpa.” This work became the scientific acknowledgment of the authenticity of the Altamira cave paintings.
Structure of the Cave
Altamira stands out among other caves in the area. The entrance is located on a small hill, and the temperature inside is about 14 degrees Celsius. The cave, which is now 270 meters long, is divided into several parts. At the entrance, there is a so-called “vestibule,” followed by the “Great Hall of Polychromes,” which is about 18 meters long and contains 16 clear large images. The colorful paintings cover even the ceiling of the Great Hall, which is dubbed the “Sistine Chapel of the Stone Age.” Also, in Altamira, there is the “Great Hall of Unclear Drawings,” where the paintings defy interpretation. Four more halls follow, containing many small drawings.
How Primitive People Painted and Why
Primitive people executed cave paintings in Altamira using wood charcoal, yellow-red ochre, hematite2, and other natural pigments. The images were applied with fingers, possibly with pieces of leather or wooden sticks. There are also many protrusions and cavities in the cave that primitive artists used to give the paintings a natural volume. The cave paintings are characterized by clear lines and precision, depicting images of bison, aurochs, horses, boars, palm prints, and much more.
There is a version that suggests that the primitive man created these drawings due to religion. Thus, people performed rituals for fertility and successful hunting. Some researchers argue that the voluminous drawings depict the Great Goddess – a deity of primitive religion that brought an abundance of food, health, and other earthly blessings. There are many anthropomorphic3 drawings of this type in Altamira.
The cave also contains many geometric drawings and other signs the meaning of which is impossible to understand. Researchers suggest that this is something akin to a map, perhaps of the cave itself, in order to show other artists where and what to draw.
It is unknown which tribe created the drawings in Altamira, but the images were undoubtedly created by primitive ancestors. Their knowledge of painting caused scientists in the 20th century to rethink their views on a primitive man, who was not as primitive as they had believed.
- The Late Paleolithic is the period from 35,000 to 8000 B.C. BC e. The era of domination of a person of a modern physical type – Homo sapiens.
- Hematite is a cherry red or brownish black iron ore.
- Антропоморфизм — это перенесение человеческих свойств на неодушевленные предметы, например, на скальные выступы.