Cave of Los Aviones, located at sea level near Cartagena in southeastern Spain, is a

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

site dating back to the Middle Paleolithic era. It is famous for having yielded in 2010 several perforated and painted seashell beads thought to have been crafted as jewelry by

Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While the ...

s.World's Oldest Cave Art Found—And Neanderthals Made It.
Michael Greshko, ''National Geographic''. 22 February 2018."Symbolic use of marine shells and mineral pigments by Iberian Neandertals 115,000 years ago." Dirk L. Hoffmann, Diego E. Angelucci, Valentín Villaverde, Josefina Zapata, and João Zilhão. ''Science Advances'' 22 Feb 2018: Vol. 4, no. 2, eaar5255. The cave is a cemented marine conglomerate. The site has yielded ochred and perforated marine shells, red and yellow colorants, and shell containers that feature residues of complex

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

mixtures. The pigments on the sea shells were dated to 115,000 years old, making these "the oldest personal ornamentation known anywhere in the world," predating ''

Homo sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

''.Archaeologists Have Discovered the World's Oldest Cave Paintings—And They’re by Neanderthals
Sarah Cascone, ''Art Net''. February 23, 2018. Art is an archaeological proxy for symbolic behavior.

References

Caves of Spain Archaeological sites in the Region of Murcia Middle Paleolithic Prehistoric art Neanderthal sites {{paleo-site-stub