Good Morning! We are going to end this August with #FridayPaleoart in the south of Europe with…
Cave: #LaPileta
Place: #Benaoján (Malaga). Andalusia (Spain)
Motif: Black auroch.
Chronology: #Solutrean (14C-AMS direct dating: 20130+-350 BP)

Pileta cave is one of the main caves with Palaeolithic Art of Andalusian region (Southern Spain) because of the number of figurative motifs and its diachrony. It also contains a big ensemble of Post-Paleolithic art.

The Paleolithic Art of the cave was first published by H. Breuil, H. Obermaier and W. Verner in 1915, in the series of classical monographs under the patronage of the Principality of Monaco.

The Pleistocene graphic unit set is around 900, including different chronological stages of the Upper Paleolithic (from its early phases to end), and more than half a thousand of post-Paleolithic designs.

In 1997 Prof. J.L. Sanchidrián (University of Cordoba) published a partially synthesis paper of his work in this cave. https://www.academia.edu/12068705/Propuesta_de_la_secuencia_figurativa_en_la_cueva_de_la_Pileta_1997_

Between 1998-2001 Dr. Sanchidrián together Dr. Valladas (CNRS) carried out a project for the dating of two caves with Paleolithic art in Andalusia (Nerja and Pileta), in which the first dates of Paleolithic art in Andalusia were obtained. link: https://www.icomos.org/centre_documentation/inora/inora29/inora-29-4.pdf

This figure is one of the few evidences of pre-Magdalenian art in the Iberian Peninsula directly dated with C14 (in addition with #CaleroII; #Gorhams; #FuenteSalín; etc.).

We end up with a #ReasonableLookAlike to the auroch in the Pileta cave located at 1184 km of distance, specifically in the cave of Tête de Lion (Ardeche, France), also associated with a Solutrean chronology. (21-22 Ka. BP) …

Or the closer Cova de Les Meravelles (Gandía, Valencia), but engraved at a distance of 500 km ...

Long #premagdalenian relations? more contextual and direct datings would help to solve this question!

M. Medina-Alcaide ( @MMedinaAlcaide)

End of thread!!!