Altamira belongs to the Franco-Cantabrian belt of decorated caves, which extends from southwest France to northeast Spain. The cave itself had been found by a huntsman in 1868, but it was only eleven years later that a 5-year-old girl noticed the paintings.
Her father, Marcelino de Sautuola, was the first to excavate the site and publish his findings. His claim that the paintings were Palaeolithic was greeted with some scepticism. Some French archaeologists even suggested that they were forgeries. Sautuola’s theories were eventually vindicated after his death.
The extraordinary paintings are mainly of animals. The finest ones depict bison, but deer, boats, and horses also appear. The artists used just three colour pigments (ocher, red, and black) but managed to create remarkably realistic images, particularly in the texture of the manes and fur. The painters also used the uneven surface of the walls to give the animals a sense of volume.
