The age of hand stencils in Maltravieso cave (Extremadura, Spain) established by U-Th dating, and its implications for the early development of art
The age of hand stencils in Maltravieso cave (Extremadura, Spain) established by U-Th dating, and its implications for the early development of art
U-Th dating of associated carbonate crusts has been applied to date parietal art in Maltravieso cave, Extremadura, Spain. Known for its large collection of red hand stencils (≥60), one example previously dated to >66.7 ka was taken to suggest Neandertal authorship. Here we present a more detailed U-series study of hand stencils within the cave, and place the results in the context of the chronology of these motifs worldwide. Twenty-two carbonate samples overlying pigment of hand stencils were dated from the cave's Sala de las Pinturas and the Galería de la Serpiente. Minimum ages for the art range from the Holocene to the Middle Palaeolithic. Alongside published dating results from other sites, this demonstrates that Neandertals as well as modern humans could create these motifs.
Hand stencils, Neandertal, Palaeolithic, Spain, U-series
Standish, Christopher D.
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Pettitt, Paul
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Collado, Hipolito
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Aguilar, Juan Carlos
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Milton, J. Andy
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García-Diez, Marcos
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Hoffmann, Dirk L.
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Zilhão, João
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Pike, Alistair W.G.
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30 November 2024
Standish, Christopher D.
0b996271-da5d-4c4f-9e05-a2ec90e8561d
Pettitt, Paul
eab64cc1-df91-461e-9589-7a0b8ebb4e13
Collado, Hipolito
2096085e-01f4-4b3b-84d4-88edf877c866
Aguilar, Juan Carlos
27cb0978-1464-4f98-93ea-81344f0d3b24
Milton, J. Andy
9e183221-d0d4-4ddb-aeba-0fdde9d31230
García-Diez, Marcos
fc8c2fcd-9bbb-4824-a89a-fab1f33da89d
Hoffmann, Dirk L.
a907ccc5-1e0b-4db1-a1d8-c79ab6778510
Zilhão, João
ee37d05b-42ad-4c2a-9d59-de29e90db35a
Pike, Alistair W.G.
e8603e20-0a89-4d57-a294-247b983fc857
Standish, Christopher D., Pettitt, Paul, Collado, Hipolito, Aguilar, Juan Carlos, Milton, J. Andy, García-Diez, Marcos, Hoffmann, Dirk L., Zilhão, João and Pike, Alistair W.G.
(2024)
The age of hand stencils in Maltravieso cave (Extremadura, Spain) established by U-Th dating, and its implications for the early development of art.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 61, [104891].
(doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104891).
Abstract
U-Th dating of associated carbonate crusts has been applied to date parietal art in Maltravieso cave, Extremadura, Spain. Known for its large collection of red hand stencils (≥60), one example previously dated to >66.7 ka was taken to suggest Neandertal authorship. Here we present a more detailed U-series study of hand stencils within the cave, and place the results in the context of the chronology of these motifs worldwide. Twenty-two carbonate samples overlying pigment of hand stencils were dated from the cave's Sala de las Pinturas and the Galería de la Serpiente. Minimum ages for the art range from the Holocene to the Middle Palaeolithic. Alongside published dating results from other sites, this demonstrates that Neandertals as well as modern humans could create these motifs.
Text
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Accepted/In Press date: 19 November 2024
e-pub ahead of print date: 30 November 2024
Published date: 30 November 2024
Keywords:
Hand stencils, Neandertal, Palaeolithic, Spain, U-series
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Local EPrints ID: 496908
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/496908
ISSN: 2352-409X
PURE UUID: 96726cd6-1c00-48df-9737-356d14a7f3a1
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Date deposited: 08 Jan 2025 12:44
Last modified: 22 Aug 2025 02:11
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Contributors
Author:
Paul Pettitt
Author:
Hipolito Collado
Author:
Juan Carlos Aguilar
Author:
Marcos García-Diez
Author:
Dirk L. Hoffmann
Author:
João Zilhão
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