Neanderthals indeed painted Andalusia’s Cueva de Ardales

Flowstone formation in the Sala de las Estrellas at Cueva de Ardales (Malaga, Andalusia), with the traces of red pigment analysed and discussed in the article. João Zilhão , ICREA - The origin and date of appearance of prehistoric cave art are the subjects of ongoing debate. Spain's Cueva de Ardales is one point of discussion. There a flowstone formation is stained red in places. This colouring is apparently almost 65,000 years old 1 but until now, a part of the scientific community attributed it to a natural coating of iron oxide deposited by flowing water. However, that hypothesis has just been rejected by the findings of an international team of scientists including a CNRS researcher 2 . The team members analysed samples of red residues collected from the flowstone surface and compared them with iron oxide-rich deposits in the cave.