Three Hand Images Found in Spain’s Altamira Cave

SANTILLANA DEL MAR, SPAIN—According to an El País report, three previously unrecorded hand stencils have been found on the walls of northern Spain’s Altamira Cave by researchers from the Museum of Altamira and members of the Handpas Project. The painted hand images, which are in poor condition, are thought to be more than 20,000 years old. They were found during work to document Paleolithic paintings in the cave, including six other hand prints. In all, eight of the painted hands, which range in color from dark violet to red, are located on the ceiling of the Polychrome Room, where images of horses, steppe bison, a doe, and what may be a wild boar were also painted. The ninth hand painting is in the room farthest from the cave’s mouth, and is thought to be the impression of a child’s hand that was covered with black pigment. The newly discovered hand paintings were digitally photographed and added to a 3-D catalog of Paleolithic hand images in Europe assembled by members of the Handpas Project. For more, go to “Late Paleolithic Masterpieces.”