Researchers in Spain have discovered a set of cave paintings that they believe may be the old known drawings by a Neanderthal.
The images resemble a DNA double helix but actually depict seals which would have been a food source for neanderthals in Malaga, Spain during the time the paintings were depicted.
Discovered nearly Spain’s Nerja cave the charcoal paintings date back nearly 43,000 years ago, far older than the Cauvet paintings from France that are suspected of being 30,000-years-old.
At this point researchers are only able to estimate the age of the paint pigments and will have to wait until next year to actually attempting a proper dated examination.
It’s still possible that Homo sapiens drew the painting but evidence points to Neanderthals living in the south of Spain during that time period, long after Homo sapiens had replaced them in central Europe.
As one expert tells the New Scientist the discovery would be an “academic bombshell” since until now Neanderthals were believed to be incapable of creating art.
More excavation work could be found in the cave system which was only unearthed in 1959 by a group of boys who were hunting bats. Much of the system is still to be explored.
