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Filling the void: a new Palaeolithic cave art site at Danbolinzulo in the Basque Country

Ochoa, Blanca; Garcia-Diez, Marcos; Vigiola-Tona, Irene

ANTIQUITY
2020
VL / 94 - BP / 27 - EP / 43
abstract
Northern Spain has a high density of Upper Palaeolithic cave art sites. Until recently, however, few such sites have been reported from the Basque Country, which has been considered to be a 'void' in the distribution of parietal art. Now, new discoveries at Danbolinzulo Cave reveal a different situation. The graphic homogeneity of the motifs, which comprise five ibex, two horses and a possible anthropomorph, along with several unidentified figures, strongly suggests a pre-Magdalenian (>20 000 cal BP) date for the art. Here, Danbolinzulo is interpreted in its wider context as occupying a pivotal position between Cantabrian-Iberian and French/continental art traditions.

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