Researchers document 280 Paleolithic engravings in Catalonia

Archaeologists have documented 280 Paleolithic engravings at Cova de la Font Major in Catalonia, including 55 animal figures, in an assemblage that challenges assumptions about the scarcity of prehistoric art in northeastern Iberia. The cave’s engravings were first recognized in 2019, after decades of visits by tourists and other visitors. The study, published in Antiquity, records depictions of animals including horses, deer and at least one bear, alongside geometric marks and groups of parallel lines. Researchers say the collection is among the largest known on the Mediterranean side of the Iberian Peninsula. The authors argue that its scale and style point to a distinct artistic tradition in northeastern Iberia, and may indicate more extensive Paleolithic occupation than previously thought. Those are interpretations of the finds, not direct measurements of past population size. The cave, near Espluga de Francolí, had been visited for decades and became a tourist attraction in 1993. During archaeological work in 2019, researcher Josep Maria Vergès noticed markings among modern graffiti that appeared to be ancient. Coauthor Míriam Salas-Altès has said the engravings could...