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 Altamira
Cave in Altamira, Spain is famous for its magnificent prehistoric
paintings and engravings. The cave is 270m (890 ft) long. The
archaeological remains of Aurignacian (Perigordian), upper Solutrean,
and lower or middle Magdalenian periods were found. The roof of the
great lateral chamber is covered with paintings, chiefly of bison,
executed in a magnificent, vivid polychrome of red, black and violet
tones. The other noteworthy attractions are eight engraved anthromorphic
figures, various handprints, hand outlines and numerous black painted or
engraved figures.
 Altamira
Cave is situated some 30 kilometers (19 mi.) West of Santander, in
Northern Spain. It was discovered by a hunter in 1886, but it was only
in 1875 that Marcelino de Sautuola, a nobleman and archaeologist from
Santander discovered animal bones, flint implements there and paintings
of bison on the ceiling. On announcing to the world about his grand
discovery Sautuola found only inacceptance.
At the time, it almost defied belief that they were as ancient as we now
know them to be, almost 15,000 years old. The influence of Darwinian
theory led scientists to believe that early man was ape-like and
therefore incapable of mentally challenging or artistically creative
acts. Thus the Altamira paintings were immediately declared to be fakes.
Only after the discovery of more Stone Age caves, whose paintings could
be dated on the basis of their relationship to the archaeological find,
and further research, were they finally confirmed as originals
Marcelino’s discovery was accepted only in the first decade of the 20th
century.
The cave paintings were made nearly 15,000 years ago in the late
Paleolithic period. They depict animals, which lived during the ice age.
Apart from a horse and several female deer, mainly bison can be seen,
along with a number of abstract figures.
 The
paintings at Altamira primarily focus on bison. It could be inferred
that bison were important because of the hunt. They were hunted
primarily for the food they provided, but many other useful commodities
like skin, bones and fur could be extracted from the remains of such a
large animal. The ceiling painting is of 15 large bison with a few
interspersed animals including a horse. The groups of animals portrayed,
particularly those on the walls are of bison, deer, wild boar, and other
combinations, which do not normally aggregate in nature. These pictures
are of the animals only and contain no landscape or horizontal base.
The paints used for these creations were derived from natural earth
pigments like ochre and zinc oxides. The paintings at Altamira boast of
as many as three colors in the body of a single animal--a significant
advance in technical skill over most cave artistry. This technical skill
is further reflected in the accuracy of the physical proportions of
depicted animals. Another advance in technical development at Altamira
is that many of the animals are painted on natural protrusions from the
rock face; most samples of cave painting ignore the natural character of
the rock concentrating on only one dimension.
The paintings at Altamira are unique from other cave paintings in many
ways. The technical skill of the Magdalenian people set the Altamira
paintings apart from the rest. For they employed many different colors,
where others used only one. They used the facets of rock to complement
the animal design instead of painting a flat picture. They discovered
more advanced lighting approaches. And finally, they were fortunate
enough to have resided in caves so remote that all their hard work and
creativity would remain unscathed for thousands of years.
Archaeologists, historians, sociologists and students are just a few of
the people who have learned more about ancient people through these
masterpieces at Altamira.
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