A cave in northern Spain, in the Basque territories, provides some new examples of cave art.
“Altxerri Cave is located in the east of the northern Spanish coast, in the town of Aia (Basque Country, Spain). The present entrance (the original entrances collapsed) was uncovered by quarrying in 1956, and the first graphic representations were found in 1962. The cave system consists of three levels, connected by shafts and chimneys, where the modern entrance leads to the intermediate level. The important Magdalenian art ensemble in this level has been published in two monographs and warranted the inclusion of the site in UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2008. However, neither of the monographs included the upper passage (Altxerri B), although the existence of paintings had been cited. These have since been studied briefly, confirming the existence of a large red bison and mentioning the remains of other red figures, which, according to the authors, were impossible to interpret. The authors also cited a bison vertebra inserted in a fissure and published the results of two 14C-AMS dates for two chamois bones (Rupicapra rupicapra) deposited beneath the wall with the paintings.” (González-Sainz, Cesar et al., 2013: 457) Altixerri B is the third, and upper, passage that is difficult to access and so had been pretty much overlooked in previous studies.
“The cave, which had been sealed off for millennia, was discovered in 1956 when a temporary quarry was opened during road-building. This broke through to the intermediate level of the cave system. In 1962, speleologists discovered paintings in this passage (Altxerri A).” (Ruiz-Redondo, Aitor, et al., 2015:66)
My absolute favorite example of rock art here is the beautiful palimpsest of a fox superimposed upon a large reindeer, or vice versa. It is tempting to posit a relationship between them and look for a deeper meaning, but I do not think we have anywhere near enough information for such an analysis.
Genetic testing has indicated that the modern inhabitants of the Basque regions are genetically related to the Paleolithic residents of the same area.
“In May 2012, the National
Geographic Society Genographic Project released a study that showed through
detailed DNA analysis of samples from French and Spanish Basque regions that
Basques share unique genetic patterns that distinguish them from the
surrounding non-Basque populations. The results of the study clearly support
the hypothesis of a partial genetic continuity of contemporary Basques with the
preceding Paleolithic/Mesolithic settlers of their homeland.” (Wikipedia)
I find it personally quite exciting to learn that the modern descendents of the creators of this Cave art may still inhabit the area. What a feeling of attachment to the land and a sense of belonging might that confer.
NOTE: Images in this column were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
González-Sainz, Cesar et al., 2013, Not only Chauvet: Dating Aurignacian rock art in Altxerri B Cave (northern Spain), Journal of Human Evolution 65, pp. 4 57-464. Accessed online 21 September 2025.
Ruiz-Redondo, Aitor, et al., 2015, Back to the past: Symbolism and archaeology in Altxerri B (Gipuzkoa, Northern Spain), Quaternary International, March 2017, DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2015.07.013, Available online October 2015, pp. 66-76. Accessed online 21 September 2025.
Wikipedia, Origin
of the Basques,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_Basques. Accessed online 8 November
2025.
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