Oldest known rock representations in the Cantabrian coast

Cueva de Hornos de la Peña is an archaeological site in Cantabria with occupational levels ranging from the Middle Paleolithic to the Neolithic. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage list since July 2008 within the ensemble "Cave of Altamira and paleolithic rock art of the Cantabrian coast".

Located next to the neighborhood of Tarriba in the municipality of San Felices de Buelna, the cave shows occupations of Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons. It is peculiar because it only has engravings, without any kind of painting. In the exterior shelter are the oldest rock representations known in the Cantabrian coast, dated to the Auriñaciense period. Among them stands a deeply engraved horse, and although they no longer exist, early 20th-century photographs show representations of bison, horses, deer, and others.

In the interior zone, starting from 60 meters of depth, representations of bovids, cervids, goats, and even a reindeer can be found in different rooms, all engraved with fingers on the clay or with a burin on the rock. Many of them would be characteristic of the Upper Magdalenian. In the area where the cave ends, there are anthropomorphic representations.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons