2023-07-03 18:00:00
In Spain, the cave of Nerja was already frequented by humans more than 41,000 years ago, according to new research. So it’s 10,000 years older than what scientists thought until now.
The fabulous cave of Nerja continues to reveal many secrets. Located in Andalusia, with our Spanish neighbours, the nerja caveof his native language, is part of human history since a long time. Much longer than experts thought. A research published on April 11, 2023 in the specialized journal Scientific Reports suggests that our ancestors already knew of the place and frequented it over 41,000 years agoreport our colleagues from Geo. This is 10,000 years older than those estimated so far.
A site frequented for 35,000 years
We owe this new dating thanks to a particular technique called “fire archeology”. The team of scientists analyzed the charcoal and the micro-layers of soot trapped in the mineral deposits of the interior galleries of the cave of Nerja, they indicate in their article. So, “the carbon dating of 53 of these charcoals (…) has identified twelve phases of prehistoric tours inside the cave between 41218 and 3299 cal BP”, we read in the study. As indicated by the specialized magazine Archaeologythe results also show that humans visited the site on average every thirty-five yearsover a period of 35,000 years.
According to the authors, the first visitors were equipped with torches pour illuminate paintings. “Prehistoric paintings were seen in the flickering light of the flames”said one of the authors, Mª Ángeles Medina-Alcaide from the University of Bordeaux.
Discovered 64 years ago
The cave in the Province of Malaga has been discovered January 12, 1959 by five friends searching for bats in a well known as the leaf. They stumble upon this geological beauty and warn the experts. But it took more than ten years before the very first Palaeolithic paintings were found by a team of archaeologists. Red ocher seals are painted on the walls.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of visitors come there each year: they were 436 000 the year spent admiring the beauty of the natural site.
This new discovery is a game-changer. Thus, we can consider the Nerja cavity as“the cave of Europe presenting Paleolithic art with most visits confirmed and recurring within it during the prehistory”conclude the researchers.
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