Large ceiling in Altamira Cave, Altamira National Museum and Research Centre, Santillana del Mar, Cantabria at Spain is culture.

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Outstanding works / Prehistory / Altamira National Museum and Research Centre

Large ceiling in Altamira Cave

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Large ceiling in Altamira Cave. Museo Nacional y Centro de Investigación de Altamira © Pedro Saura

Category

Painting

Date

14500 BP

Cultural background

Palaeolithic

Original title

Gran techo de la cueva de Altamira

Altamira National Museum and Research Centre
Santillana del Mar
Cantabria

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It is the most renowned cave art masterpiece and one of the most interesting because it displays art by different groups of humans who lived there 13,000 to 22,000 years ago.

The first art of humanity, preserved in the caves in Europe - Spain and France mainly - was discovered in Altamira in 1880. Today there are hundreds of caves and open-air spaces with animal figures and signs painted or engraved during the Upper Palaeolithic 10,000 to 35,000 years ago.

Altamira stands out for the beauty of its polychrome art, 14,500 years old.