Cueva Antón is a
paleoanthropological and
archeological site in the
Region of Murcia
The Region of Murcia (, ; es, Región de Murcia ), is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in ...
of southeast Spain. The cave is located about 60 kilometers from the Mediterranean port city of
Cartagena inland in the territory of the municipality of
Mula. It was eroded by the
Río Mula and served as a cave in the
Middle Palaeolithic
The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle Pale ...
inhabited by
Neanderthals. The cave became internationally known in 2010, after a shell at least 43,000 years old with adhering orange pigment was discovered there. The pigment found was interpreted as evidence that the shell was used "in an aesthetic and probably symbolic" way. The find from the Cueva Antón was published together with similar finds from the
Cave of Los Aviones; they were named as the first such Neanderthal jewelry found in Europe. The colonization of the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
by modern man ( ''
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, ...
'' ) took place only several thousand years after the creation of the jewelry from the Cueva Antón. This site is the last known place where Neanderthal people resided.
The rock of the cave is Eocene limestone. It is at the base of a 25 meter high cliff on the bank of the
Río Mula. The base of the cave was filled with four meters of sediment.
References
{{Navbox prehistoric caves
Neanderthal sites
Caves of Spain
Paleolithic Europe
Archaeological sites in the Region of Murcia