Neanderthal hand marks in a cave in Rincón de La Victoria could prove to be the oldest in the Mediterranean area.

Altogether nine archeological features were found in the Cueva del Tesoro in the said town, left behind by Neanderthals who used it as a refugee millennias ago when the Ice Age made survival an almost impossible goal in most of Europe yet down on the coast of Málaga temperatures were not so extreme.

The discovery was made by an investigator who has spent 40 years examining, meticulously the area around the El Cantal cave complex; an area literally riddled with caves; the cave count has reached 44 so far.

“They are the oldest human traces in the Mediterranean,” he explained during a press conference. The Mayor of Rincón, Francisco Salado, was evidently very happy about this media spotlight on the municipality.

Although the marks left by a cave dweller are beyond doubt for the authenticity; i.e., not pure chance, such as somebody finding the face of Christ a watermelon, it will also raise more questions and further research and hypotheses.

The crux of the matter is that, while with other discoveries, it is easy to point to representations of Palaeolithic rock paintings which seem to say, “We were here,” it is clear from the newly located signs that there is no intention of ‘decorating’ but rather, they are intended to indicate that this is a site that has been explored.

In fact, they are not stop-over caves but structures that were continually inhabited. Another interesting fact is that some hand marks belong to children meaning that a family or clan were involved and not just males on a hunting expedition.

Exploration work by archaeologists began in October and will probably continue until the end of this year. The Mayor said that the investigation could count on municipal support.

(News: Rincón de La Victoria, Costa del Sol, Malaga, Andalucia)

Keywords: Cave Drawings, Paintings, Neanderthrals, Hand Marks, Paeolithic, Ice Age, El Cantal, Cueva del Tesoro

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