Bison painting at Altamira cave in Spain: Is it not amazing that we can instantly view on our computers this digital image of a bison painted 22,000 years ago by some unknown Paleolithic artist in a Spanish cave located 4300 miles from St. Paul, Minnesota? Just an observation.Courtesy Public domain via WikipediaAfter being closed for a dozen years, officials at the famous cave at Altamira in Spain - known for its wonderful prehistoric paintings - have once again been allowing the public to view its fantastic painted images of bison, horses, and other imagery created by unknown artists some 22,000 years ago.

The state-owned Altamira is subsidized by Spain's Culture Ministry, and testing has been in the works to determine whether limited visitors would have damaging effects on the rare prehistoric art. Random visitors to the site are selected by lottery and suited up in protective clothing before entering the cave. Test-run entries has been going on regularly since February.

The cave was discovered in 1879 by amateur archaeologist, Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola. Visitors swarmed to view the discovery until officials closed it a hundred years later so scientists could study the effects of exposure to human traffic. It reopened for a while but only with limited access. It closed again in 2002 after mold was spotted forming on some of the walls and paintings.

A museum containing exact replicas of parts of the chamber and artwork were built near the cave entrance where visitors could experience the wonders of the paintings without fear of damaging them. The replicated experience has been popular with tourists (a quarter-million visitors per year) but, as some complain, the experience just isn't the same as seeing the real thing.

“It is the kind of difference in emotions that we might feel when we look at a painting of Rembrandt or the sunflowers of van Gogh but are then told that the paintings are in fact fakes,” said Altamira museum director, José Antonio Lasheras.
The last group of lucky participants will be allowed into the cave later this month and results of the testing is scheduled to be published in September.

SOURCES and LINKS
NYT story
UNESCO's Altamira information
Guardian story on cave reopening