Friday, June 15, 2012

Oldest cave paintings - are they Neanderthal?

Secrets of a Spanish cave

Spanish cave paintings thought to be 25,000 years old and the work of Cro-Magnon humans have been dated much further back by a new technique - to over 40,000 years.  A sphere and several handprints in red pigment, found in the El Castillo Cave, are now considered the oldest cave paintings ever found.  While authorship can't be proven, some scientists think modern humans weren't in the area at the time - leaving Neanderthals as the likely culprit. We know some Neanderthals painted their bodies, but never before has a cave painting been attributed to them. 
So many mysteries about those who came before us....

The ''Panel of Hands'' in El Castillo Cave, Spain.

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