In prehistoric times, people did not stay in one place for long, but an exception was made for a cave in Spain.
The province of Málaga is located in the south of Spain. Here you will also find the Cueva de Ardales, a cave known for its prehistoric art. The drawings have been admired for a long time, but it was never clear how long this cave was used by our ancestors. Archaeologists from the University of Cádiz in Spain figured it out.
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Museum
The investigation began in 2011 and lasted seven years. The team focused mainly on the cave entrance, because that’s probably where people have passed most often. That part also contains most of the drawings. To find out the history, the team started an excavation. In doing so, they uncovered layers of ancient times and found clues to past activities.
From this it became clear that the cave was already being used 58,000 years ago, in the time of the Neanderthals† They used the site for cave drawings, but not for other things. No indications have been found that ancestors of modern humans lived there.
History
The Neanderthals disappeared about 43,000 years ago. Subsequently, the cave stood empty for 7,000 years, after which modern humans moved in. It is striking that they also did not use the cave to live in, but continued in the same way as their ancestors: making their paintings. They also buried their dead there. In total, mankind has used the Cueva de Ardales for 50,000 years.
According to the archaeologists, it is clear that the cave had an important symbolic value. They therefore hope to be able to learn a lot about prehistoric cultures at this location. So this won’t be the last time this cave is in the news.
Sources: PLOS ONE, ScienceAlert
Beeld: Ramos-Muñoz et al., PLOS ONE, 2022, CC-BY 4.0
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