'The Oldest (Neanderthal) Work Of Art Ever': 42,000-Year-Old Paintings Of Seals Found In Spain

The Daily Mail ^ | 2-7-2012 | Tom Worden

[blam]

'The Oldest (Neanderthal) Work Of Art Ever': 42,000-Year-Old Paintings Of Seals Found In Spanish Cave

* Six paintings were found in the Nerja Caves, 35miles east of Malaga
* They are the only known artistic images created by Neanderthal man

By Tom Worden
Last updated at 9:27 PM on 7th February 2012

Comments (38) Share The world's oldest works of art have been found in a cave on Spain's Costa del Sol, scientists believe. Six paintings of seals are at least 42,000 years old and are the only known artistic images created by Neanderthal man, experts claim.

Professor Jose Luis Sanchidrian, from the University of Cordoba, described the discovery as 'an academic bombshell', as all previous art work has been attributed to Homo sapiens.

Important find: These six paintings of seals were discovered in the Nerja Caves near Malaga, Spain. They are at least 42,000 years old and are the only known artistic images created by Neanderthal man

The paintings were found in the Nerja Caves, 35 miles east of Malaga in the southern region of Andalusia. Spanish scientists sent organic residue found next to the paintings to Miami, where they were dated at being between 43,500 and 42,300 years old.

They hope to establish the exact age by testing parts of the paintings themselves, but their investigation has been hampered by a lack of cash.

Antonio Garrido, in charge of preserving the caves, said the paintings could revolutionise our view of Neanderthal man, who is often portrayed as being monkey-like.

The Nerja Caves, an impressive series of enormous caverns, were discovered

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Tourist attraction: The caves are home to the world's largest stalagmite, standing 105ft tall

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Location: The paintings were found in the Nerja Caves on Spain's south coast

(snip)

[blam]

WE ARE NEANDERTHALS!

Thanks to FReeper Viiksitimali for the article.

[blam]

GGG Ping.

[AD from SpringBay]

Those aren’t seals! Those are secret Freemason symbols! But seriously, this is cool.

[wardaddy]

WE ARE NEANDERTHALS!

and we are rather different because of it...as should be painfully clear to anyone but the most obtuse

I support Michael Berry for President!

[Vaquero]

WE ARE NEANDERTHALS

absolutely....we may be blended with the late out of Africa tribes...but Europeans are Neanderthals and Asians contain other Homo Erectus genes....

but it is politically incorrect to say so...

[blam]

Modern Flint Expert 'Reverse Engineers' Neanderthal Stone Axes - And Says OUR ANCESTORS Were Clever, Elegant Craftsmen

[massgopguy]

“And then came the first Art Critic.”

[dfwgator]

Not exactly, The Caves of Altamira, but still a good excuse to post some Steely Dan:

I recall when I was small
How I spent my days alone
The busy world was not for me
So I went and found my own
I would climb the garden wall
With a candle in my hand
I’d hide inside a hall of rock and sand
On the stone an ancient hand
In a faded yellow-green
Made alive a worldly wonder
Often told but never seen
Now and ever bound to labor
On the sea and in the sky
Every man and beast appeared
A friend as real as I

CHORUS:
Before the fall when they wrote it on the wall
When there wasn’t even any Hollywood
They heard the call
And they wrote it on the wall
For you and me we understood

Can it be this sad design
Could be the very same
A wooly man without a face
And a beast without a name
Nothin’ here but history
Can you see what has been done
Memory rush over me
Now I step into the sun

[KarlInOhio]

Oh, seals. I thought that maybe the SEALS were preparing an ambush from 40,000BC.

More seriously, I'm surprised that anything survived in a cave with that many stalactites. Those are a sign that water is leaking into the cave and moisture isn't good for artwork.

[freebilly]

Sure those are Seals and not Cee Lo...?

[Snickering Hound]

"If I can do it, it's not art."

[Bobalu]

Just great. A monkey man from 42,000 years ago could draw better than me. :-/

[rod1]

DNA helicies

[Hatteras]

[ml/nj]

The paintings were found in the Nerja Caves, 35 miles east of Malaga in the southern region of Andalusia. Spanish scientists sent organic residue found next to the paintings to Miami, where they were dated at being between 43,500 and 42,300 years old.

Uuh, it's me the resident FR skeptic.

I thought these stalactites or stalagmites (I always forget which type hangs down.) were formed over long periods of time by water with with dissolved CaCO₃ dripping into caves and essentially forming icicle-like these things. That means that they start off thin and grow thicker as additional water drips down the outside of the icicle, evaporates, and leaves more CaCO₃ on the outside of the growing icicle. This means that whatever was painted on the outside, supposedly long ago, should be covered up now by more CaCO₃ deposited in the interim. No?

ML/NJ

[Viiksitimali]

Spanish documentary
“Arqueomanía’ se adentra en La Cueva de Nerja “
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=QLeDHWEk8wQ#t=240s

http://dienekes.blogspot.com/2012/02/42000-year-old-art-from-andalusia.html

[blam]

The guy in the picture in post #14 has no Neanderthal DNA.

The Neanderthal Theory

[US_MilitaryRules]

I drew those last week!

[BigBobber]

I noticed the same thing right away. This “discovery” does not pass the “smell test”, not by a long shot. The nearby stalactites are still growing, you can see that by the whites dots on their tips that are water drops reflecting the light.

It would be nearly impossible for these paintings to survive intact on the surface of a stalactite for 40,000 years.They would either be covered up by mineral deposits or eroded away.

[US_MilitaryRules]

Why do you have to throw a monkey wrench into the fray? Nobody wants facts of reality! LOL