Cave of Altamira

1868 archaeological discoveriesCantabrian symbolsCave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern SpainCaves containing pictograms in SpainCaves of Cantabria ... and 5 more

Limestone cavesPages with Spanish IPAPrehistoric sites in SpainUpper Paleolithic sites in EuropeWorld Heritage Sites in Spain

The Cave of Altamira ( AL-tə-MEER-ə; Spanish: Cueva de Altamira [ˈkweβa ðe altaˈmiɾa]) is a cave complex, located near the historic town of Santillana del Mar in Cantabria, Spain. It is renowned for prehistoric cave art featuring charcoal drawings and polychrome paintings of contemporary local fauna and human hands. The earliest paintings were applied during the Upper Paleolithic, around 36,000 years ago. The site was discovered in 1868 by Modesto Cubillas and subsequently studied by Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola.Aside from the striking quality of its polychromatic art, Altamira's fame stems from the fact that its paintings were the first European cave paintings for which a prehistoric origin was suggested and promoted. Sautuola published his research with the support of Juan de Vilanova y Piera in 1880, to initial public acclaim. However, the publication of Sanz de Sautuola's research quickly led to a bitter public controversy among experts, some of whom rejected the prehistoric origin of the paintings on the grounds that prehistoric human beings lacked sufficient ability for abstract thought. The controversy continued until 1902, by which time reports of similar findings of prehistoric paintings in the Franco-Cantabrian region had accumulated and the evidence could no longer be rejected.Altamira is located in the Franco-Cantabrian region and in 1985 was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as a key location of the Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain. The cave can no longer be visited, for conservation reasons, but there are replicas of a section at the site and elsewhere.

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Cave of Altamira
Acceso a las Cuevas de Altamira,

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude	Longitude
N 43.3825 °	E -4.1202777777778 °

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Ermita de San Sebastián

Acceso a las Cuevas de Altamira
39360
Cantabria, Spain
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Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain

The Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain (Cueva de Altamira y arte rupestre paleolítico del Norte de España) is a grouping of 18 caves of northern Spain, which together represent the apogee of Upper Paleolithic cave art in Europe between 35,000 and 11,000 years ago (Aurignacian, Gravettian, Solutrean, Magdalenian, Azilian). In 2008, they were collectively designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Chief among these caves is Altamira, located within the town of Santillana del Mar in Cantabria. It remains one of the most important painting cycles of prehistory, originating in the Magdalenian and Solutrean periods of the Upper Paleolithic. This cave's artistic style represents the Franco-cantabrian school, characterized by the realism of its figural representation. Altamira Cave was declared a World Heritage Site in 1985. In 2008, the World Heritage Site was expanded to include 17 additional caves located in three autonomous communities of northern Spain: Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country.

National Museum and Research Center of Altamira

The National Museum and Research Center of Altamira (Spanish: Museo Nacional y Centro de Investigación de Altamira), also known as Altamira Museum (Spanish: Museo de Altamira), is a center dedicated to the conservation of, research into and the sharing of information about the cave of Altamira in Santillana del Mar (Cantabria, Spain), named a World Heritage Site by Unesco. The museum offers prehistoric technology workshops to visitors, as well as a permanent exhibition called Times of Altamira, which contains objects from Altamira as well as those from other palaeolithic caves of Cantabria such as El Morín, El Juyo and El Rascaño. The New Altamira Cave, or Neocave, is also part of this exhibition: an artificial replica of the original caves, built in order to preserve the originals from damage arising from a massive influx of visitors.

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