Don Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola y Pedrueca, a Spanish-born lawyer and amateur archaeologist, lived with his family in Northern Spain, following scientific studies, living far from the influence of the church and giving importance to science. In contrast to his wife’s traditional structure, he tried to raise his beloved daughter with his own scientific teachings and taught her to ask questions. When they went on nature explorations, they always took their daughter with them and together they questioned the existence of the world and the universe. One day, when they went to nature to explore again, they came across a work of art that they always entered but had not yet discovered. They came across unique wall paintings inside the Altamira Caves, which are located 30 km west of the city of Santander and date back to the Paleolithic Age.
The discovery of Altamira in 1879 by Spanish archaeologist Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola caused a great deal of controversy among archaeologists, Sautuola actually began exploring the caves in 1875. He did not become aware of the paintings until 1879, when his nine-year-old daughter Maria noticed that the ceiling was covered in bison. Having seen similar images carved on Paleolithic objects exhibited at the World Exhibition in Paris the year before, Sautuola correctly assumed that the paintings might date from the Stone Age. He therefore hired an archaeologist from the University of Madrid to assist him in his subsequent work. [1] Professor Juan Vilanova y Piera supported Sautuola's assumptions and published his results in 1880, to great public acclaim. While all these processes were taking place, Sautuola's family life was not very encouraging, his wife, who had a traditional view, was under the influence of the church's statements and was exposed to reactions that her husband was opposing Christianity and accusations that he was rejecting God. He tried to protect his family from society, and directed his daughter to receive religious education, made her play the piano, did not want her to go exploring with her father, and their relationship was deteriorating day by day.
During this period, French experts led by Gabriel de Mortillet and Emile Cartailhac, who noticed Sautuola's works, loudly mocked Sautuola at the 1880 Prehistoric Congress in Lisbon, accusing him of fraud due to the high artistic quality and intact structure of the paintings. Many academics claimed that the paintings were commissioned by one of the artists of the period upon Sautuola's request, claiming that people of that period could not have had such artistic talent. [2]
During this period, Sautuola, who was completely offended by scientific studies, still tried to find an answer to why these paintings had not been damaged and died without being able to give a clear answer. Later, in 1902, the discovery of other paintings from prehistoric times caused the retraction of the opposing theses about the Altamira Cave. In addition, in the same year, Emile Cartailhac definitely admitted his mistake in his article "Mea culpa d'un sceptique" published in the magazine "L'Anthropologie" and confessed that he had made a mistake. Thus, approximately 14 years after his death, Sautuola's reputation was restored and his work gained a scientific quality.
These discovered wall paintings are quite valuable and precious in terms of human history, sociology and anthropology. With the acceptance of the originality of the paintings, the perception of people living in the prehistoric period has also completely changed.
The paintings, estimated to have been made between 16000-9000 BC, were located in the interior of caves in the mountains of Northern Spain, so they were not exposed to the destructive effects of water and wind and have undergone very little change. This is definitive evidence of why the paintings have not deteriorated and have remained fresh. In addition to the wall paintings, tools, food remains, and hearths are signs of settled life here. There are hundreds of animal drawings (deer, wild boar, horse) and signs on the ceiling of Altamira, and since bisons (wild oxen) are predominant in the drawings, it can be concluded that bison had an important place in hunting.
In addition, the first examples of humans obtaining paint from nature are seen in these cave paintings. These paintings were made using colored soil and clay, and colors were created using hematite, coal, and iron oxide colored clay. And the differences in density and shading in the paintings, and the use of three colors in the drawing of a single animal are signs of a technical skill far beyond cave art.
Since it was opened to visitors, Altamira has been accepted with very few visitors due to the deterioration of the paintings due to carbon dioxide, heat, etc. A museum was established in the region to tell the story of Altamira and people's attention was drawn to this museum. Altamira was added to the World Heritage List in 1985.
Gozde Irem HARD
Source:
Clair, Kassia, ‘’The Secret Lives of Colour’’ London: John Murray. pp. 274–275. ISBN 9781473630819. OCLC 936144129, (2016).
Beveridge, W. I. B.,''The art of scientific investigation'', New York: Norton, (1957).
To watch, ''Finding Altamira''film, 2016.
UNESCO video: "Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain".
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