Age
~36,000 years old
Called
'Sistine Chapel of prehistory'
Access
Original sealed; replica museum open
Subjects
Bison, horses, handprints
Replica Museum
€3
The Altamira cave, located in the Cantabria region of northern Spain, was discovered in 1879 by noticing the wall paintings of the archaeologist Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola’s daughter. Art history is home to paintings that are considered to be the beginning and are estimated to be 35 thousand years old.
Drawing animal paintings has convinced that their souls are trapped in these paintings and that the prey will pass easier. For this reason, those who do the paintings are accepted as magicians of the period.
The depicted figures have large animals that are difficult to hunt for at that time. Looking at the descriptions, the animals are very realistic and moving. This shows that the person who draws is someone who knows and observes these animals very well.
Bonus Content: Movie – Finding Altamira (2016)
“The Altamira cave, located in the Cantabria region of northern Spain, was discovered in 1879 by noticing the wall paintings of the archaeologist Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola’s daughter.”
Müge Ayma
