LEIOA, SPAIN—A new study of Paleolithic artwork recently discovered in the Basque Country suggests the region had its own so-called Iberian style that was distinct from what is known as the French/Continental style, according to a Haaretz report. In fact, the eroded, Iberian-style images found in Mount Ertxiña’s Danbolinzulo Cave date to between 40,000 and 20,000 years ago, during a period when it had been previously thought that very little artwork had been created in what is now the Basque Country. Blanca Ochoa of the Universidad del Pais Vasco and her colleagues Marcos García-Diez and Irene Vigiola-Toña said the differences between the two styles of artwork are surprising because the groups lived in close proximity to each other and are likely to have come in contact as they roamed in search of food. “We think maybe that they have different cultural backgrounds,” Ochoa said. “But we don’t know why they chose to have two very distinct styles.” Between 20,000 and 13,000 years ago, she added, the differences in styles disappeared. To read about Cherokee ritual imagery deep in the caves of the American South, go to "Artists of the Dark Zone."
