Las Caldas cave facts for kids
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Cueva de las Caldas
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 Location in Asturias
Location in Spain
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| Location | Nalón Valley |
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| Region | Asturias |
| Coordinates | 43°19′45″N 5°55′38″W / 43.32917°N 5.92722°W |
The Las Caldas Cave is a super important place in Asturias, Spain. It's not just a cool cave; it's also part of a special protected area called the Reserva Natural Parcial de la Cueva de las Caldas. This area covers about 45 hectares (that's like 111 football fields!) and is located near the towns of La Piñera and Las Caldas in the Nalón Valley.
The cave itself is about 600 meters long, which is longer than five football fields! It has three entrances and a main part that's about 5 meters high. Inside, you'll even find an underground river. While the cave isn't famous for its rocks or how it was formed, it's super important for the animals that live there and for amazing discoveries from ancient times.
Contents
Las Caldas Cave: A Home for Bats
Las Caldas Cave is a cozy home for many different kinds of bats. These flying mammals love to hang out in the cave's dark, quiet spaces.
Some of the bats you might find living here include:
- the medium mouse-eared bat
- the cave bat
- the greater horseshoe bat
- the lesser horseshoe bat
- Natterer's bat
These bats are an important part of the cave's ecosystem.
Amazing Discoveries from the Stone Age
The Las Caldas Cave is one of the most important places in Asturias for learning about the Upper Paleolithic period. This was a time long, long ago when early humans lived in caves and used stone tools. Archaeologists, who are like history detectives, have found incredible things here.
The discoveries from Las Caldas Cave are really special. They help us understand what life was like thousands of years ago.
Ancient Art and Tools
Archaeologists have found many amazing artifacts in the cave. These include:
- Cave paintings: Ancient people drew and painted on the cave walls. This is called rock art.
- Engraved rods: They found a rod with two stylish drawings of women carved into it. This dates back to the Middle Magdalenian period, a part of the Stone Age.
- Stone plaque: Another discovery was a stone with a woman's profile carved into it.
- Whale teeth carvings: Imagine finding a sperm whale tooth with a whale and two bisons carved onto it!
- Crystal tool: A very special find was a perfect, unused tool made from rock-crystal. It's shaped like a laurel leaf.
- Engraved horse teeth: Even horse teeth were used as canvases for art.
- Carved horse bone: A horse bone was found with bison heads carved into it.
These finds show how artistic and skilled the people of the Stone Age were. They used what they found around them to create beautiful and useful objects.
See also
In Spanish: Cueva de las Caldas para niños
