Cave with prehistoric art
Map of Paleolithic cave art sites in the
Franco-Cantabrian region .
The Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain (Cueva de Altamira y arte rupestre paleolítico del Norte de España ) is a grouping of 18 caves of northern
Spain , which together represent the apogee of
Upper Paleolithic
cave art in Europe between 35,000 and 11,000 years ago (
Aurignacian ,
Gravettian ,
Solutrean ,
Magdalenian ,
Azilian ). In 2008, they were collectively designated a
World Heritage Site by
UNESCO .
Chief among these caves is
Altamira , located within the town of
Santillana del Mar in
Cantabria . It remains one of the most important painting cycles of
prehistory , originating in the
Magdalenian and
Solutrean periods of the Upper Paleolithic. This cave's artistic style represents the Franco-cantabrian school, characterized by the realism of its figural representation. Altamira Cave was declared a
World Heritage Site in 1985. In 2008, the World Heritage Site was expanded to include 17 additional caves located in three
autonomous communities of northern Spain:
Asturias , Cantabria and the
Basque Country .
List of caves
Code
Name
Location
Coordinates
Buffer zone
310-001
Cueva de Altamira
Cantabria ,
Santillana del Mar
43°22′57″N 04°07′13″W / 43.38250°N 4.12028°W / 43.38250; -4.12028
16 ha
310-002
Cueva de la Peña de Candamo
Asturias ,
Candamo ,
San Román
43°27′21″N 6°4′21″W / 43.45583°N 6.07250°W / 43.45583; -6.07250
100 ha
310-003
Cueva de Tito Bustillo
Asturias ,
Ribadesella
43°27′39″N 5°4′4″W / 43.46083°N 5.06778°W / 43.46083; -5.06778
243 ha
310-004
Cueva de La Covaciella
Asturias ,
Cabrales
43°19′5″N 4°52′30″W / 43.31806°N 4.87500°W / 43.31806; -4.87500
11.3 ha
310-005
Cueva de Llonín
Asturias ,
Peñamellera Alta
43°19′50″N 4°38′43″W / 43.33056°N 4.64528°W / 43.33056; -4.64528
17.4 ha
310-006
Cueva del Pindal
Asturias ,
Ribadedeva
43°23′51″N 4°31′58″W / 43.39750°N 4.53278°W / 43.39750; -4.53278
69.4 ha
310-007
Cueva de Chufín
Cantabria ,
Rionansa
43°17′26″N 4°27′29″W / 43.29056°N 4.45806°W / 43.29056; -4.45806
16.7 ha
310-008
Cueva de Hornos de la Peña
Cantabria ,
San Felices de Buelna
43°15′40″N 4°1′47″W / 43.26111°N 4.02972°W / 43.26111; -4.02972
25 ha
310-009
Cueva de El Castillo
Cantabria
Puente Viesgo ,
Cantabria
43°17′33″N 3°57′56″W / 43.2924°N 3.9655°W / 43.2924; -3.9655
69 ha
310-010
Cueva de Las Monedas
Cantabria ,
Puente Viesgo
43°17′20″N 3°58′03″W / 43.289°N 3.9675°W / 43.289; -3.9675
69 ha
310-011
Cueva de La Pasiega
Cantabria ,
Puente Viesgo
43°17′20″N 3°57′58″W / 43.289°N 3.966°W / 43.289; -3.966
69 ha
310-012
Cueva de Las Chimeneas
Cantabria
Puente Viesgo
43°17′29″N 3°57′52″W / 43.2914°N 3.9644°W / 43.2914; -3.9644
69 ha
310-013
Cueva de El Pendo
Cantabria ,
Camargo
43°23′17″N 3°54′44″W / 43.38806°N 3.91222°W / 43.38806; -3.91222
64 ha
310-014
Cueva de La Garma
Cantabria ,
Ribamontán al Monte
43°25′50″N 3°39′57″W / 43.43056°N 3.66583°W / 43.43056; -3.66583
100 ha
310-015
Cueva de Covalanas
Cantabria ,
Ramales de la Victoria
43°14′44″N 3°27′08″W / 43.24556°N 3.45222°W / 43.24556; -3.45222
1374 ha
310-016
Cueva de Santimamiñe
País Vasco ,
Vizcaya ,
Cortézubi
43°20′47″N 2°38′12″W / 43.34639°N 2.63667°W / 43.34639; -2.63667
99 ha
310-017
Cueva de Ekain
País Vasco ,
Guipúzcoa ,
Deva
43°14′09″N 02°16′31″W / 43.23583°N 2.27528°W / 43.23583; -2.27528
14.6 ha
310-018
Cueva de Altxerri
País Vasco ,
Guipúzcoa ,
Aia
43°16′7″N 02°08′02″W / 43.26861°N 2.13389°W / 43.26861; -2.13389
15 ha
See also
References
Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain (unesco.org)
Pike, A. W. G.; Hoffmann, D. L.; Garcia-Diez, M.; Pettitt, P. B.; Alcolea, J.; De Balbin, R.; Gonzalez-Sainz, C.; de las Heras, C.; Lasheras, J. A.; Montes, R.; Zilhao, J. (14 June 2012). "U-Series Dating of Paleolithic Art in 11 Caves in Spain". Science . 336 (6087): 1409–1413.
Bibcode :
2012Sci...336.1409P .
doi :
10.1126/science.1219957 .
PMID
22700921 .
S2CID
7807664 .
310-001:
Altamira (Santillana del Mar)
310-002: La Peña de Candamo (Candamo)
310-003:
Tito Bustillo (Ribadesella)
310-004: Covaciella (Cabrales)
310-005: Llonín (Peñamellera Alta)
310-006: El Pindal (Ribadedeva)
310-007:
Chufín (Rionansa)
310-008: Hornos de la Peña (San Felices de Buelna)
310-009:
Monte Castillo - El Castillo (Puente Viesgo)
310-010: Monte Castillo - Las Monedas (Puente Viesgo)
310-011:
Monte Castillo - La Pasiega (Puente Viesgo)
310-012: Monte Castillo - Las Chimeneas (Puente Viesgo)
310-013: El Pendo (Camargo)
310-014:
La Garma (Ribamontán al Monte)
310-015: Covalanas (Ramales de la Victoria)
310-016:
Santimamiñe (Kortezubi)
310-017: Ekain (Deba)
310-018:
Altxerri (Aia)
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