12 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A new study shows that the cave paintings at Cueva Ardales are the work of Neanderthals

A study of pigments used in murals in the Cueva Ardales caves in southern Spain has revealed that Neanderthals, long perceived as simple and savage, actually painted stalagmites in this Spanish cave more than 60,000 years ago.

The research “Symbolic role of the underworld among Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals” published in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) was conducted by Àfrica Pitarch Martí and her colleagues at Collaborative Research Center 806.

Since the release of a 2018 study attributing red ocher pigment discovered on the stalagmitic dome of Cueva de Ardales to our extinct “cousin” species, the topic had been roiled the paleoarchaeology community.

The dating suggested that this art has at least 64,800 years of history and was made when modern humans did not inhabit the European continent.

The composition and location of the pigments were found to be inconsistent with natural processes, according to new analysis.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



This combination of pictures obtained on July 29, 2021, shows a general view and close-up of a partly colored stalagmite tower in the Spanish cave of Ardales, southern Spain.
This combination of pictures obtained on July 29, 2021, shows a general view and close-up of a partly colored stalagmite tower in the Spanish cave of Ardales, southern Spain. Photo: Africa Pitarch Martí

The pillar’s edges are covered with a slew of thin sinter plumes. Red paint spots, dots, and lines were placed in 45 different places on these sinter curtains. The goal was to determine the composition and potential origin of pigments. The results indicated that the pigment composition and arrangement could not be attributable to natural processes, but that they were applied by spraying and, in some cases, blowing.

The researchers discovered that the composition of the pigments did not match natural samples obtained from the cave’s floor and walls, suggesting that the pigments were brought in from outside.

More detailed dating revealed that the pigments were applied at various times, separated by almost 10 thousand years. The pigment was applied, the first time more than 65,000 years ago and the second time between 45,300 and 48,700 years ago, during the period of Neanderthal habitation.

It’s impossible to compare Neanderthal “art” to ancient contemporary human wall paintings, such as those discovered in France’s Chauvet-Pont d’Arc cave more than 30,000 years ago. The latest discovery, however, adds to mounting evidence that Neanderthals, whose lineage died out approximately 40,000 years ago, were not the boorish cousins of Homo sapiens that they had long been depicted to be.

The team wrote these are not art in the strict sense “but rather the result of graphic behaviors intent on perpetuating the symbolic significance of a space.”

The cave formations “played a crucial role in the symbolic systems of some Neanderthal societies,” albeit the meaning of those symbols is still unknown.

İDW

Related Articles

The first and largest astronomical observatory of the 6th century BC discovered in Egypt’s Kafr El-Sheikh

24 August 2024

24 August 2024

Archaeologists in Egypt unveiled the first and largest astronomical observatory from the 6th century BCE in the Buto Temple at...

Excavations at Meir Necropolis have turned up funerary artifacts from two distinct eras of ancient history

16 May 2023

16 May 2023

An Egyptian team of archaeologists has uncovered a collection of structural relics dated to the Byzantine and Late Period in...

The ancient city of Kastabala will soon have a colonnaded Street

4 September 2021

4 September 2021

The archaeological excavation of the ancient city of Kastabala in Osmaniye Province in southern Turkey continues. Kastabala-Hierapolis is one of...

A very Rare Medieval Pocket Sundial Discovered in Germany

31 July 2023

31 July 2023

A rare Medieval sundial, which is approximately the size of a matchbox was discovered in the old town of Marburg,...

Lidar Technology Reveals a 3,000-year-old Secret Mayan City with Full of Pyramids and Plazas

30 October 2024

30 October 2024

Tulane University researchers used laser-guided imaging to uncover vast unexplored Maya settlements in Campeche, Mexico, revealing more than 6,500 pre-Hispanic...

Kent Archaeological Society purchased an Anglo-Saxon hoard ahead of a London auction

1 November 2022

1 November 2022

The Kent Archaeological Society has bought a large collection of Anglo-Saxon artifacts from the sixth and seventh centuries known as...

Archaeologists uncovered a second mosaic in Rutland Roman villa in England

29 November 2022

29 November 2022

Archaeologists report they have uncovered a second mosaic at the site of the 2020 mosaic discovery at the Roman villa...

A Roman sarcophagus containing two skeletons was found in Bath, England

29 June 2021

29 June 2021

Stone walls, a Roman sarcophagus, and a cremation burial have been unearthed in a renovation project at the Bathwick Roman...

Buddha statue discovered in ancient city of Berenice, Egypt

29 April 2023

29 April 2023

Archaeologists excavating in the ancient Egyptian seaport Berenice Troglodytica on the western shore of the Red Sea have unearthed a...

Scandinavia’s Oldest Identified Ship Burial in Trøndelag “Rewrites History”

14 November 2023

14 November 2023

In Leka, a municipality in Norway’s Trøndelag county, archaeologists have uncovered Scandinavia’s oldest identified ship burial, dating back to around...

New Research Reveals Previously Unknown Aspects of the Construction, Use, and Ritual Significance of a Neolithic Rondel Found in Poland

12 December 2024

12 December 2024

An archaeological excavation at Nowe Objezierze in north-western Poland has uncovered a rondel dating to around 4800 BC, offering new...

1,800-year-old Bronze military medal with Medusa head found in southeastern Turkey

5 October 2022

5 October 2022

A military medal believed to be almost 1,800 years old has been found by archaeologists in Turkey. The discovery was...

Egypt unearths ancient quarters of mining leader in the Sinai Peninsula during the Middle Kingdom

19 January 2022

19 January 2022

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced recently that an Egyptian archaeological mission working in Wadi Al-Nasab in South...

Ancient stone grenades discovered at Badaling Great Wall in Beijing

16 October 2023

16 October 2023

Chinese archaeologists have unearthed 59 ancient stone grenades from the ruins of a building in the western section of the...