Altamira Cave

The paintings in Altamira Cave were created during the Upper Paleolithic period, with the oldest artworks dating to approximately 36,000 years ago. The most famous polychrome bison on the ceiling were dated to roughly 14,000 to 20,000 years ago using uranium-thorium techniques. These are among the earliest known examples of figurative cave painting in Europe.

The cave's entrance was found in 1868 by a local hunter, but the paintings were identified in 1879 by Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, an amateur archaeologist, during an excursion with his young daughter María, who first spotted the bison on the ceiling. The scientific community initially dismissed the paintings as forgeries. Their authenticity was only accepted after similar cave art was found elsewhere in Europe in the early 1900s.

The original Altamira Cave is closed to the general public to protect the prehistoric paintings from damage caused by humidity, carbon dioxide, and microbial growth from human visitors. An exact full-scale replica, known as the Neocave, was built at the Museo de Altamina and opened to visitors in 2001. A limited number of visitors are occasionally allowed into the original cave through a random-selection lottery.

The most famous paintings are the large polychrome bison on the ceiling, rendered in red and black pigments that exploit the natural contours of the rock to create a three-dimensional effect. Other depicted animals include horses, deer, and wild boar, along with hand stencils and abstract signs. The painted ceiling has been called the 'Sistine Chapel of prehistoric art.'