The symbolic role of the underground world among Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals

Abstract

Cueva de Ardales in Málaga, Spain, is one of the richest and best-preserved Paleolithic painted caves of southwestern Europe, containing over a thousand graphic representations. Here, we study the red pigment in panel II.A.3 of “Sala de las Estrellas,” dated by U-Th to the Middle Paleolithic, to determine its composition, verify its anthropogenic nature, infer the associated behaviors, and discuss their implications. Using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction, we analyzed a set of samples from the panel and compared them to natural coloring materials collected from the floor and walls of the cave. The conspicuously different texture and composition of the geological samples indicates that the pigments used in the paintings do not come from the outcrops of colorant material known in the cave. We confirm that the paintings are not the result of natural processes and show that the composition of the paint is consistent with the artistic activity being recurrent. Our results strengthen the hypothesis that Neanderthals symbolically used these paintings and the large stalagmitic dome harboring them over an extended time span.

The nature and chronology of human occupation at the Galerías Bajas, from Cueva de Ardales, Malaga, Spain

“…This spatial distribution, as well as four instances in which black pigments were laid over earlier red suggests the non-figurative red motifs are the earliest representations in the cave. The U-series dating of calcite accretions superposing some of these non-figurative paintings indicate that they were made at least 65 ka ago [ 9 – 32 ]. In addition, the repeated application of pigment on panel II.A.3 has been attested through pigment analysis, indicating a symbolic use of both, the paintings and the stalagmitic dome harbouring them over more than 20.000 years [ 32 ].…”

“…The U-series dating of calcite accretions superposing some of these non-figurative paintings indicate that they were made at least 65 ka ago [ 9 – 32 ]. In addition, the repeated application of pigment on panel II.A.3 has been attested through pigment analysis, indicating a symbolic use of both, the paintings and the stalagmitic dome harbouring them over more than 20.000 years [ 32 ]. In addition, excavations resulted in the discovery of a significant number of potential ochre lumps in all chronological phases, including Middle Palaeolithic stratigraphic units.…”

Organization of residential space, site function variability, and seasonality of activities among MIS 5 Iberian Neandertals

“…In Africa, by the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, the record of archeologically visible innovations had grown to include the increased exploitation of marine resources, the heat pretreatment of siliceous rocks, the manufacture of composite tools, the use of colorants, the wearing of shell beads, and the production of geometric signs 1 , 2 . These innovations were once thought to be causally linked to the emergence of anatomical modernity 3 , 4 , but we now know that similar developments—fishing and shell-fishing, stone tool hafting, use of bivalve shells as raw material for tools and body decoration, employment of large raptor talons as personal ornaments, intentional burial, and symbolic use of the underground world—were occurring at broadly the same time among Eurasian Neandertals 5 – 14 . Potentially underpinning this “Middle Paleolithic Revolution” 15 and the patterns of convergence revealed by the archeological record, gene flow between the two continental reservoirs increased at this time; in Eurasia, such a process is revealed by the paleogenetic evidence for the replacement of an ancestral, Denisovan-related Y chromosome lineage by the modern human-related lineage seen among Upper Pleistocene Neandertals 16 .…”

Bridging the gap with bacterial art

“…Humans and even Neanderthals have been expressing themselves through painting for tens of thousands of years. For example, the oldest recorded art made by Neanderthals is believed to be ∼65 000 years old, created on stalagmites in Cueva de Ardales, in southern Spain (Martí 2021 et al 2021 ). The earliest evidence showing the intersection between bacteria and art dates back to around 46 000–70 000 years ago with the Australian Bradshaw rock art, also referred to as the Gwion Gwion paintings (Fig.…”