New discoveries of pre-Magdalenian cave art in the central area of the Cantabrian region (Spain)

Evidence of the potential occurrence of Palaeolithic red paintings has been found in several caves in Cantabria since the 1980s. Awareness of those references led us to propose a research project aiming at exploring the caves with the most recent methods and techniques of graphic data acquisition and processing to the Government of the Autonomous Community. Encouraged by the discovery of Cueva Auria in 2015, the project started in 2016. In a first stage, seven caves were selected for study with the systematic integrated application of lasergrammetry, photogrammetry, microphotography and multispectral imagery. This high-resolution study has been able to confirm the existence of six new Palaeolithic cave art sites in Cantabria. The preliminary results of the project, programed to last for another two years, are most interesting from a scientific perspective. The new cave art sites, as in the case of Cueva Auria, can be assigned to an archaic phase within Palaeolithic Art, that is to say, to a pre-Magdalenian age. With the exception of El Rejo Cave, where the main panel includes some animal figures, and an imprint of a hand of La Brazada Cave, none of the new assemblages contain either zoomorphic or human representations. Apart from parietal testimonies which could be linked to the human frequentation of the caves and not properly, to the category of graphic expressions (such as stains, small marks, imprints and other coloured traces), these small ensembles constitute an interesting group of cave art sites mainly formed by isolated dots or integrated in geometric compositions, discs, spots, isolated or paired strokes, and, in two cases, by complex rectangular signs. The new discoveries imply a significant increase in the number of Palaeolithic Cave Art sites in the Cantabrian region, which could be related to other assemblages in the same region and other proximate areas. All together, they demonstrate the great variability of the regional parietal record in the Early Upper Palaeolithic. We can be optimistic that further research, applying the systematic approach developed by this project, will continue to improve knowledge of pre-Magdalenian cave art in northern Spain.