Science and Technology – Discovering the Spanish Caves: New Prehistoric Drawings You Can’t See with the Naked Eye

The sector of the Iberian Peninsula contains about 100 underground cavities, each containing examples of inscriptions and drawings from the Upper Paleolithic period, spanning from 50,000 to 12,000 years ago, he is writing IFLScience.

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In the depths of the La Pasiega cave there are many artistic compositions representing the figures of horses, deer and arachnids – extinct species of cattle, as well as square symbols, lines and dotted motifs.

In an effort to gain a deeper understanding of this rock art, scientists at the Complutense University of Madrid used stereoscopic imaging to capture the cave walls. This technique involves creating images using two slightly offset images, similar to the effect seen through red-cyan 3D glasses.

The study showed that some aspects of the cave paintings are still not visible to the naked eye. Moreover, this imaging process revealed previously unknown creatures, including three images of previously unidentified animals, including two horses and three araks.

This is because prehistoric craftsmen used the natural undulations and indentations of cave walls in their installations. This study highlights the need for archaeologists and anthropologists to use 3D visualization techniques when cataloging rock art, a prerequisite for capturing its full narrative.

The researchers note that “stereographs helped reveal associations between the visual shapes and the irregular topography of the cave walls, nuances that go unnoticed in 2D images.”

The authors further state: “Paleolithic rock art must be characterized not only by painted, drawn, or engraved marks, but also by the topographical features of the surface of the rocks on which these images are carved. These two components act as two inseparable elements.”

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