Animals hidden in plain sight

Stereoscopic recording of Palaeolithic rock art at La Pasiega cave, Cantabria

Bibliographic Data

ID3170016
AuthorsRaquel Asiaín (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, corresponding author), Roberto Ontañón (0000-0002-0504-3961, Universidad de Cantabria), Pedro Saura (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)
Year2023
Volume97
Issue395
Pages1084-1099
Publication date2023-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAntiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-598X • E-ISSN: 1745-1744
PublisherAntiquity Publications (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.15184/aqy.2023.122
OpenAlexW4385953944
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited16

Cantabrian cave art is familiar from photographs reproduced in textbooks, but these two-dimensional images do not capture the irregularities of the rock surfaces on which animals and other designs were painted or engraved. Here, the authors use stereoscopic photography to review the parietal art of La Pasiega cave. By documenting the uneven surfaces of the cave's walls alongside painted and engraved marks, they identify new animal figures and reinterpret others, previously thought to be partial representations, as complete. The results show the positioning of animal figures to make use of concave/convex surfaces and rock edges to define the outlines of animals, reinforcing the need to record and interpret cave art three-dimensionally

Archaeology · Art · Cave · Cave painting · Geography · Iconography · Photography · Rock art · Stereoscopy · Visual arts · 3D Surveying and Cultural Heritage · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Geology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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