Altamira Cave is a world-famous limestone cave in the Cantabrian mountains of northern Spain, the study of which changed the opinion of scientists and archaeologists about the life and art of the ancient people of the Paleolithic era. The discovery was made by a little girl - the daughter of amateur archaeologist Marcelino de Sautuola.
History of the find
The cave was discovered by accident in 1868 near the town of Santander by one of the locals. When information reached the amateur archeologist Marcelino de Sautuola, he showed interest and came to inspect it. On the very first day, he found the remains of animal bones and skeletons, as well as ancient human tools.
Three years later, after visiting an archeology exhibition in France, Sautuola decides to explore the cave in more detail, trying to open the top layers of the soil. The excavations were started by him in the autumn of 1879, during which hatchets, parts of dishes, deer antlers and other interesting things were found.
During another expedition, Marcelino leddaughter to look at her labors, who was delighted and tried to make her finds. Due to her small stature, the girl could make her way into those rooms where the too low ceiling did not allow an adult to pass through. She made an important discovery in one of the side grottoes of the Altamira cave: rock paintings that covered the walls and ceiling, where large 2-meter bulls, horses and other animals were very realistically depicted.
Fake or upheaval in history?
Marcelino de Sautuola began to study the vaults of the cave more carefully: in the next room, he also found geometric images and drawings of animals. In the ground near the walls, the archaeologist was able to find ocher of the same shade as in the pictures, which proved the local origin of the rock art. All this was the traces of the life of primitive people.
He also collected evidence that the cave had been abandoned for many thousands of years, which means that all the objects inside belonged to ancient people who were previously considered incapable of communicating through speech, and even more so through art.
Realizing that what he found is a world sensation and discovery in the field of archeology and history, Sautuola decides to inform scientists about the find. To this end, in 1880, he sent a manuscript describing the cave and rock carvings to the editors of the famous journal in France, Materials on the Natural History of Man, which specialized in such publications.
Scientists start coming to the cave andlovers of archeology, but their reaction to Marcelino's finds turned out to be sharply negative, he was even accused of falsifying data. The only person who believed in such a miracle was a geologist, professor at Villanova University of Madrid. Together with Sautuola, he visited the cave: among the artifacts found in the upper layer of the earth, there was also a stone shell in which a talented ancient artist diluted paints.
According to the editor of the journal E. Cartagliac, the scientific world was afraid of the new and unknown, which completely turned the idea of human development in ancient times. Therefore, Villanov's speech at the congress of anthropologists with a report on the find was a failure. The wall painting of the Altamira cave was declared falsification by all major scientists, accusing a Spanish amateur archaeologist of forgery.
Discovery of other caves
While historians were arguing about the authenticity of the drawings and other finds of Sautuola, several more similar caves were discovered in Europe, in which the found objects, tools, sculptures and rock paintings date back to the Upper Paleolithic era.
Thus, in 1895, the French archaeologist E. Riviere in the La Moute cave studied drawings of fossil animals and tools, the antiquity of which was confirmed by the impossibility of access to these layers of modern people. Elsewhere, scientists Dalo also found images of mammoths and other animals from the Paleolithic period. All of them were buried under a layer of earth, which testified to the antiquity of the finds.
Similar discoveries were made in Europe, Asia, the Urals, Mongolia. However, all this happened years after the death of Sautuola and Villanova.
The person who was able to openly admit his mistakes and change the fate of the Altair cave was Kartagliak, who in 1902 called on the entire scientific world “not to make a fatal mistake” and start researching ancient rock art.
Description of the cave
After recognizing the authenticity of the finds in Altamira, scientists excavated several times in it: in 1902-1904, in 1924-1925. and in 1981. Other caves were also examined, in total, modern scientists counted about 150 similar finds in Western Europe alone.
Altamira Cave in Spain (La cueva de Altamira) has been open to all scientists and tourists interested in archeology for many years. It consists of several rooms, side passages and double corridors with a total length of 270m, some with very low ceilings (about 2m), others up to 6m.
The main hall is 18 meters long. All drawings are polychrome and made with charcoal, ocher, hematite and other ancient natural paints, using not only fingers, but also special tools. They are located on the walls and ceiling of all underground rooms.
Modern carbon analysis dates the rock art of the Altamira Cave to 15-8 thousand BC. e. and rank it among the Madeleine culture (the period of the Paleolithic era). Since 1985 it has been recognizedUNESCO World Heritage Site.
Art of primitive artists
In total, more than 150 images of fossil animals have been discovered: bison, deer, wild boars, horses. All of them are performed in motion: while running, jumping, attacking or resting. Also found are the handprints of ancient people and a schematic representation of their figurines. Many of the drawings were created at different times, some are layered on top of each other.
Primitive artists used wall and ceiling relief to create 3D images. Moreover, the three-dimensional effect was also achieved by a peculiar manner of drawing: dark contours of the figures, painted inside with various shades of colors.
The largest in terms of area is the ceiling painting in the Large Polychrome Hall, where on an area of 180 square meters. m painted more than 20 figures of animals. Many of the images are near life size.
The most famous drawing is the bison of Altamira Cave (Spain), the uniqueness of which also lies in the fact that this type of woolly bison is no longer in nature, they died out many millennia ago.
Location of the cave and how to get there
Altamira Cave is located in Cantabria (Spain), near Santillana del Mar, which is located 30 km west of Santander, a town in the north of the country on the Atlantic coast. The entrance to the cave is located on a hill with a height of 158 m at a distance of 5 km from Santillana del Mar, where the sign on the highway points.
In the 1960s and 70s, this place was very popular with tourists, becausefor which there was an increase in temperature and humidity in underground rooms, mold appeared on the walls. Between 1977 and 1982, the cave was closed for restoration, further visits by tourists were limited to 20 people per day.
In 2001, a museum complex was created near the cave, where copies of many images are exhibited. Now tourists can get acquainted with rock art without going underground.
Museum opening hours:
- May - October - 9.30-20.00 (Tuesday-Saturday);
- November - April - 9.30-18.00 (Tuesday-Saturday);
- 9.30-15.00 (Sundays and public holidays);
- Monday is a day off.
Free admission open on 04/18, 05/18, 10/12 and 12/6, on Saturdays after 14:00, Sunday - all day.
Interesting facts
According to scientists, the cave stretches 8-10 km deep into the earth and has an extensive system of passages, however, all attempts by cavers to get further were unsuccessful due to narrow passages into which they could not squeeze through.
The most colorful Large polychrome hall with a painted ceiling is called the "Sistine Chapel of the Stone Age". Other halls also have names: “Horse's Tail”, “Tektiform Hall”, “Pit”, “Entrance Hall”, “Gallery”, “Black Buffalo Hall”.
In 2015, the Spanish Mint issued a commemorative coin dedicated to the Altamira Cave. Its symbol, a bison, is depicted on the front side; 12 stars of the European Union go around it in a ring.
In 2016, the feature film "Altamira" was filmed, which tells the story of the discovery of the cave by Marcelino Sautuola and his struggle against scientists who declared the find a falsification.
The ancient rock art of Altamira Cave is evidence of the existence of people in the Paleolithic era who not only hunted and led a primitive lifestyle, but were also able to create such beautiful and talented works.
