The Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain () is a grouping of 18 caves of northern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, which together represent the apogee of

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...

cave art In archaeology, cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric art, prehistoric origin. These paintings were often c ...

in Europe between 35,000 and 11,000 years ago (

Aurignacian The Aurignacian () is an archaeological industry of the Upper Paleolithic associated with Cro-Magnon, Early European modern humans (EEMH) lasting from 43,000 to 26,000 years ago. The Upper Paleolithic developed in Europe some time after the L ...

Gravettian The Gravettian is an archaeological industry of the European Upper Paleolithic that succeeded the Aurignacian circa 33,000 years BP. It is archaeologically the last European culture many consider unified, and had mostly disappeared by ...

Solutrean The Solutrean industry is a relatively advanced flint tool-making style of the Upper Paleolithic of the Final Gravettian, from around 22,000 to 17,000 BP. Solutrean sites have been found in modern-day France, Spain and Portugal. Detai ...

Magdalenian Magdalenian cultures (also Madelenian; ) are later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic in western Europe. They date from around 17,000 to 12,000 years before present. It is named after the type site of Abri de la Madeleine, a ro ...

Azilian The Azilian is a Mesolithic archaeological industry, industry of the Franco-Cantabrian region of northern Spain and Southern France. It dates approximately 10,000–12,500 years ago. Diagnostic Cultural artifact, artifacts from the culture includ ...

). In 2008, they were collectively designated a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. Chief among these caves is Altamira, located within the town of

Santillana del Mar Santillana del Mar () is a historic town situated in Cantabria, Spain. Its many historic buildings attract thousands of visitors every year. There is an old saying that Santillana del Mar is ''The Town of Three Lies'', since it is neither a Saint ...

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

. It remains one of the most important painting cycles of

prehistory Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...

, originating in the

and

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

in 1985. In 2008, the World Heritage Site was expanded to include 17 additional caves located in three

autonomous communities The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Spa ...

of northern Spain:

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

, Cantabria and the Basque Country.

List of caves

References

Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain
(unesco.org) * {{Prehistoric caves 2008 establishments in Spain Art of the Upper Paleolithic Paleolithic Europe Rock art in Spain Limestone caves Show caves in Spain Green Spain Prehistoric sites in Spain World Heritage Sites in Spain Caves of the Basque Country (autonomous community) Landforms of Asturias Tourist attractions in Asturias Protected areas of Asturias Tourist attractions in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Altamira and

List of caves

See also

References