La Garma Cave in Cantabria: A Stone Age living space rediscovered as it was 17,000 years ago

Archaeologists from northern Spain have unearthed one of the best-preserved Paleolithic dwellings in the world in La Garma Cave in Cantabria. Dating back 16,800 years, this habitation space appears frozen in time, with tools and other objects scattered on the floor, preserved almost exactly as they were when the ancient inhabitants left the site.

Discovered in 1995, the cave was inhabited by humans over an extended period covering the entire Upper Paleolithic phase, spanning from the Stone Age to the abandonment of the site during the Magdalenian period.

This cave is also renowned for hosting one of Europe's most comprehensive collections of rock art. The artworks include representations of animals, hunting scenes, abstract symbols, and other elements that provide important insights into the daily life, spiritual beliefs, and technical skills of these ancient populations.

Approximately 17,000 years ago, a landslide blocked the cave entrance, preserving its contents as a prehistoric time capsule. Although the main chamber was inaccessible for millennia, humans continued to occupy nearby caves, as evidenced by kitchen middens dating from the Middle Stone Age, Copper and Bronze Age tombs, as well as forts and Iron Age tombs up to the Visigothic and Medieval periods.

According to sciencepost.fr, researchers recently gained access to the main chamber, which served as a living space. These troglodyte dwellings were often chosen for their natural protection, offering shelter from the elements and sometimes even from other human communities or predators.

The discovered living space, approximately five square meters in size, is oval-shaped and delimited by stone blocks and stalagmites. These elements anchored to the floor a structure made of sticks and skins supported by a nearby ledge in the cave wall.

At the center is a hearth, surrounded by a variety of objects related to the daily life of the ancient inhabitants, such as tools for crafting stone, wood, and bone objects, instruments for leatherworking, and objects related to hunting, including spears, needles, and a 'proto-harpoon.'

In addition to utilitarian objects, the cave also contained artistic pieces, including an aurochs bone engraved with a representation of an aurochs and a human face. Pendants made of deer, horse, and bison bones, believed to have been worn by the inhabitants, were also found.

Researchers use non-invasive techniques to deepen their analyses while preserving the site.