Rupestral painting in the superior gallery of Altxerri cave (Aia, Gipuzkoa)

Abstract

We describe new details of a complex figure made with red paint in a superior gallery of Altxerri cave. The head of a bison with a corniform motif stands out among other strokes of difficult interpretation. This collection of paintings has no correlation with the numerous engravings and black paintings of the main gallery of this cave. There is no access to this superior gallery from the main gallery of the cave so the Paleolithic artist would have gained access through another entry from the mountain that is unknown in the present. Near the collection of paintings described there is a bison vertebra stuck by its spinous apophysis in a crack on the rock. The C14 dating of the vertebra has not been possible due to the lack of collagen in the sample. Underneath this figure, tarsal remains of two individuals of Rupicapra rupicapra were found dated 34195 ± 1235 y 29940 ± 745 BP. The contemporaneity of the remains and the figure cannot be established.

Keywords

• arte parietal paleolítico
• cueva en costa vasca
• bisonte
• trazos indefinidos