Redefining shared symbolic networks during the Gravettian in Western Europe: New data from the rock art findings in Aitzbitarte caves (Northern Spain)

A recent discovery of three previously unpublished decorated caves on Aitzbitarte Hill, Northern Spain, challenges traditional views on Gravettian rock art symbolism. The caves feature engraved bison and other animals with formal characteristics not previously documented in the northern Iberian Peninsula but found in southern France. This finding suggests a more complex and interconnected symbolic network during the Gravettian period than previously thought, contradicting the assumed isolation of Cantabrian symbolic expressions before the Magdalenian era. A multiproxy approach, including statistical analysis, was used to reassess iconographic exchange networks and their relationship with material culture, revealing greater artistic diversity and cultural connectivity in Western Europe during this time.

Garate, D., Rivero, O., Rios-Garaizar, J., Arriolabengoa, M., Intxaurbe, I., & Salazar, S. (2020). Redefining shared symbolic networks during the Gravettian in Western Europe: New data from the rock art findings in Aitzbitarte caves (Northern Spain). Plos One, 15(10), e0240481. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240481