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Pre-solutrean rock art in southernmost Europe: Evidence from Las Ventanas cave (Andalusia, Spain)

Pre-solutrean rock art in southernmost Europe: Evidence from Las Ventanas cave (Andalusia, Spain)
Pre-solutrean rock art in southernmost Europe: Evidence from Las Ventanas cave (Andalusia, Spain)

The south of Iberia conserves an important group of Palaeolithic rock art sites. The graphisms have been mostly attributed to the Solutrean and Magdalenian periods, while the possibility that older remains exist has provoked extensive debate. This circumstance has been linked to both the cited periods, until recently, due to the transition from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic in the extreme southwest of Europe as well as the non-existence of some of the early periods of Palaeolithic art documented in northern Iberia. This study presents the results of interdisciplinary research conducted in Las Ventanas Cave. These results enabled us to identify a new Palaeolithic rock art site. The technical, stylistic and temporal traits point to certain similarities with the range of exterior deep engravings in Cantabrian Palaeolithic rock art. Ventanas appears to corroborate the age attributed to those kinds of graphic expression and points to the early arrival of the Upper Palaeolithic in the south of Iberia. Importantly, the results provide information on the pre-Solutrean date attributed to trilinear hind figures. These findings challenge the supposed Neanderthal survival idea at one of the main late Middle Palaeolithic southern Iberian sites (Carigüela) and, due to the parallels between them and an engraving attributed to this period in Gibraltar, it raises the possibility of interaction between modern humans and Neanderthals in the extreme southwest of Europe.

1932-6203
Cortés-Sánchez, Miguel
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Riquelme-Cantal, José Antonio
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Simón-Vallejo, María Dolores
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Giráldez, Rubén Parrilla
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Odriozola, Carlos P.
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Román, Lydia Calle
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Carrión, José S.
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Gómez, Guadalupe Monge
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Vidal, Joaquín Rodríguez
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Campos, Juan José Moyano
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Delgado, Fernando Rico
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Julián, Juan Enrique Nieto
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García, Daniel Antón
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Martínez-Aguirre, M. Aránzazu
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Barredo, Fernando Jiménez
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Cantero-Chinchilla, Francisco N.
01edaf82-c897-471e-badd-aa397703c353
Cortés-Sánchez, Miguel
546b2415-047f-4064-a579-14feccb86ebd
Riquelme-Cantal, José Antonio
9aa6c0a0-50a2-4eb5-a80d-33e13aefb44a
Simón-Vallejo, María Dolores
af4b002c-c9e4-45fa-b618-1791cb4caf5b
Giráldez, Rubén Parrilla
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Odriozola, Carlos P.
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Román, Lydia Calle
be535cc7-8c91-4be2-8b78-89371ee023cb
Carrión, José S.
0eed2a2b-b5dd-4322-b056-135fcc85d265
Gómez, Guadalupe Monge
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Vidal, Joaquín Rodríguez
1082db3c-92bd-4d8d-8452-e16d584671cd
Campos, Juan José Moyano
30ab0974-f22e-4ecf-a606-67b003664290
Delgado, Fernando Rico
10d56674-7974-42f2-a848-31ff68a541ba
Julián, Juan Enrique Nieto
fa83fadb-e72d-491b-b35b-edf49a2ecee9
García, Daniel Antón
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Martínez-Aguirre, M. Aránzazu
d9bbc81f-8013-4269-8f7d-94bfc7f9d7f5
Barredo, Fernando Jiménez
c14ff169-8b9a-4aba-bbba-13b9e3f3d362
Cantero-Chinchilla, Francisco N.
01edaf82-c897-471e-badd-aa397703c353

Cortés-Sánchez, Miguel, Riquelme-Cantal, José Antonio, Simón-Vallejo, María Dolores, Giráldez, Rubén Parrilla, Odriozola, Carlos P., Román, Lydia Calle, Carrión, José S., Gómez, Guadalupe Monge, Vidal, Joaquín Rodríguez, Campos, Juan José Moyano, Delgado, Fernando Rico, Julián, Juan Enrique Nieto, García, Daniel Antón, Martínez-Aguirre, M. Aránzazu, Barredo, Fernando Jiménez and Cantero-Chinchilla, Francisco N. (2018) Pre-solutrean rock art in southernmost Europe: Evidence from Las Ventanas cave (Andalusia, Spain). PLoS ONE, 13 (10), [e0204651]. (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0204651).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The south of Iberia conserves an important group of Palaeolithic rock art sites. The graphisms have been mostly attributed to the Solutrean and Magdalenian periods, while the possibility that older remains exist has provoked extensive debate. This circumstance has been linked to both the cited periods, until recently, due to the transition from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic in the extreme southwest of Europe as well as the non-existence of some of the early periods of Palaeolithic art documented in northern Iberia. This study presents the results of interdisciplinary research conducted in Las Ventanas Cave. These results enabled us to identify a new Palaeolithic rock art site. The technical, stylistic and temporal traits point to certain similarities with the range of exterior deep engravings in Cantabrian Palaeolithic rock art. Ventanas appears to corroborate the age attributed to those kinds of graphic expression and points to the early arrival of the Upper Palaeolithic in the south of Iberia. Importantly, the results provide information on the pre-Solutrean date attributed to trilinear hind figures. These findings challenge the supposed Neanderthal survival idea at one of the main late Middle Palaeolithic southern Iberian sites (Carigüela) and, due to the parallels between them and an engraving attributed to this period in Gibraltar, it raises the possibility of interaction between modern humans and Neanderthals in the extreme southwest of Europe.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 12 September 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 17 October 2018
Published date: October 2018

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 425655
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/425655
ISSN: 1932-6203
PURE UUID: 53e92985-89b7-4bf3-a866-3ab630ae670b

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Date deposited: 31 Oct 2018 17:30
Last modified: 05 Jun 2024 19:27

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Contributors

Author: Miguel Cortés-Sánchez
Author: José Antonio Riquelme-Cantal
Author: María Dolores Simón-Vallejo
Author: Rubén Parrilla Giráldez
Author: Carlos P. Odriozola
Author: Lydia Calle Román
Author: José S. Carrión
Author: Guadalupe Monge Gómez
Author: Joaquín Rodríguez Vidal
Author: Juan José Moyano Campos
Author: Fernando Rico Delgado
Author: Juan Enrique Nieto Julián
Author: Daniel Antón García
Author: M. Aránzazu Martínez-Aguirre
Author: Fernando Jiménez Barredo
Author: Francisco N. Cantero-Chinchilla

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