This month a new article has been published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology that analyses the variability of themes and supports used in Cantabrian portable art from the Magdalenian period. Multivariate statistical tools have been used to carry out the relevant analyses, which have made it possible to determine the complexity in the selection of themes and objects over time.

The research is available in openacces, and you can access it from this link or in our publications tab.

We start the new year with an article dedicated to the earliest portable art on the Iberian Peninsula.

This study has examined a significant sample of lithic and bone objects from the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic of Cantabrian Spain that have been cited as evidence of graphic activity in the literature. The objects have been analysed through microscopic observation of the marks to distinguish between incisions, pecks and engravings made for non-functional purposes (graphic activity) and those generated by various functional actions or taphonomic processes (cut marks, trampling, root marks, percussion scars and use-wear).

The results show that some Middle Palaeolithic bone objects present incisions that are neither functional nor taphonomic and whose characteristics are similar to the graphic evidence attributed to Neanderthals in Europe and the Near East.

To access the full article, click here.

The website of the VII International Congress “The Art of Prehistoric Societies”, which this year will be held between 19 and 23 October 2022 at the University of Cuenca, is now available. On the page you can find all the information you need to attend, the opening and closing dates and the title of the sessions. The deadline for submitting abstracts will remain open until 14 July, so don’t miss it!

Click on this link to access the event’s website

Today the press talks about the extraordinary discovery of Palaeolithic art in the city of Salamanca, studied by the director of Labtec, Olivia Rivero, along with other researchers from the University of Salamanca.

In this link you can check the digital version.

On April 15, the presentation of the manual “Prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula” will take place in the Assembly Hall of the Faculty of Geography and History of the Usal. In it, the authors of the manual, as well as the official positions of the already said faculty and university, will take part.

For more information about attending the event, you can check the following poster:

The director of the laboratory, Olivia Rivero, made together with two lecturers from the University of Salamanca, a handbook focused on the Prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula. In this link, you have access to its digital version:

Prehistoria de la península ibérica / Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca

Este manual aborda la prehistoria peninsular, desde las más antiguas ocupaciones humanas hasta época prerromana. El texto abarca los contenidos que habitualmente se cursan en las universidades españolas y portuguesas: sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras, prehistoria reciente y arte prehistórico. Está …

The investigation in Aitzbitarte IV cave continue their trajectory revealing the existence of two decorative phases whithin this sector of the cave, one Gravettian, and the other Magdalenian. This proves the great significance of the graphic record of Aitzbitarte within the Palaeolithic parietal art of the Cantabrian Region.

For more information, here are the links to the two new articles that summarise the recent discoveries.

Redefining shared symbolic networks during the Gravettian in Western Europe: New data from the rock art findings in Aitzbitarte caves (Northern Spain)

The renewal of the archaeological record, mainly through the discovery of unpublished sites, provides information that sometimes qualifies or even reformulates previous approaches...

Arte parietal paleolítico en la cueva de Aitzbitarte V (Errenteria, Gipuzkoa): un nuevo conjunto diacrónico en la Región Cantábrica oriental

El arte parietal paleolítico de la cueva de Aitzbitarte V se descubre en 2015, en el marco de las labores de prospección desarrolladas en la última década en el oriente cantábrico. Hemos documentado una decena de grabados situados en tres sectores profundos de la cavidad y compuestos por representaciones...

It has been published a new investigation that has been developed over almost two years, in which is analized the evolution of artistic skills in Upper Paleolithic societies. This study presents the results of an experimental program based on the analysis of the movements while performing artistic motifs on bone. Numerous factors, such as movement patterns and tool orientation, have been analized to determine different levels of technical ability.

In addition, we have used statistical tools to differenciate with lot of precision the different groups that have appeared in the experimentation, taking into account both technical and formal values.

We want to thank the students of the Faculty of Geography and History of Usal for their participation in the experimentation.

Here is the link of the article so you can assess all its results and conclusions:

Rivero-Garate2020_Article_MotionAndGestureAnalysingArtis

Today we present a new 3D reproduction of the entrance panel of Hornos de la Peña, carried out as part of the project led by Olivia Rivero and financed by the government of Cantabria. In that reconstruction, you can see an engraved horse, as well as three trilinear hind that were discovered during the development of this project.

This representations show that Hornos de la Peña have an ensamble of pre-Magdalenian chronology engravings that can be related to other ensembles such as the Asturians La Lluera or La Viña or the Cantabrian cave of Chufín.

You can check the paper here:

Arte parietal Paleolítico en la cueva de Hornos de la Peña (Cantabria): nuevos datos sobre su conjunto exterior | RIVERO VILÁ | Zephyrvs

Arte parietal Paleolítico en la cueva de Hornos de la Peña (Cantabria): nuevos datos sobre su conjunto exterior

One of our works has been published these days, in this case, about Aitzbitarte IV cave. Here we leave the link to discover new representations of parietal art in the Cantabrian Region.

Modelled clay animals in Aitzbitarte IV Cave: A unique Palaeolithic rock art site in the Cantabrian Region

Aitzbitarte hill is a classic archaeological site for the Upper Palaeolithic in the Cantabrian Region. Excavations in caves III and IV were started at…

We also presented the Sketchfab link to view the 3D models of two panels of Aitzbitarte IV.

Aizbitarte IV - C.II.2 horse - Download Free 3D model by diegogarate (@diegogarate) [ccfe210]

3DModel Aizbitarte IV - C.II.2 horse by diegogarate

Aitzbitarte IV - bison C.I.6 - 3D model by diegogarate (@diegogarate) [ded9112]

3DModel Aitzbitarte IV - bison C.I.6 by diegogarate