Paleontologists may have discovered the oldest cave drawings to date in a cave near the Spanish city of Malaga. Several Spanish newspapers and the New Scientist website report this. The exceptional age suggests that the drawings may be the work of Neanderthals. A special discovery:until now scientists thought that Neanderthals were incapable of making abstract visual art.
Near the reddish drawings that represent seals, the researchers found remnants of charcoal. This was presumably used to make the drawings. Analysis of these remains with the proven method of radiocarbon dating revealed an age of between 43,500 and 42,300 years for the charcoal remains.
If the red pigment with which the drawings themselves were made turns out to be of the same age, the drawings are considerably older than the beautiful wall paintings in the caves at Vallon-Pont d'Arc in southern France, which are according to recent dating about 30,000 years old and are currently considered the oldest in the world. That would certainly make the Spanish discovery spectacular.
Sense of art and symbolism
The drawings are associated with Neanderthals because this primitive human species lived south of the Ebro River on the Iberian Peninsula until about 37,000 years ago, after its dominant position in all of Europe was taken over by the Gay Sapiens, modern man. Until now, however, scientists thought that the Neanderthal brain was not developed enough to draw abstract images.
Decorated shells and stones, already found in Eastern Europe in 2010 and associated with Neanderthals, already showed that this primitive ancestor did have a sense of aesthetics. The brains of these 'stupid cavemen' turned out to be more developed than thought. However, paleontologists believed that creating abstract drawings was a step too far. But after the find in Spain, some researchers have suggested that the Neanderthal had a similar capacity for symbolism and creativity as the Homo Sapiens .
Pitfalls
A discussion about the age of the drawings at Vallon-Pont d'arc last year already proved that precise dating of cave drawings is usually full of pitfalls and controversy. Two renowned paleontologists strongly disagreed on the dating. The difference between their analyzes was as much as 5000 years.
Even if the age proves to be correct, according to José Luis Sanchidrián, who made the discovery with a team from the University of Cordoba, it is still not certain that they were indeed made by Neanderthals. “We cannot say with absolute certainty that there are no Homo Sapiens lived in this area about that time. But that they were Neanderthals is now much more obvious”.