Santimamiñe facts for kids
Entrance to the cave
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| Location | Kortezubi (Biscay), Spain |
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| Official name: Santimamiñe | |
| Type: | Cultural |
| Criteria: | i, iii |
| Designated: | 1985 (9th session) |
| Part of: | Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain |
| Reference #: | 310-016 |
| Region: | Europe and North America |
| Official name: Cueva de Santimamiñe | |
| Type: | Non-movable |
| Criteria: | Monument |
| Designated: | 17 July 1984 |
| Reference #: | RI-51-0005165 |
Santimamiñe cave, Kortezubi, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain, is one of the most important archaeological sites of the Basque Country, including a nearly complete sequence from the Middle Paleolithic to the Iron Age.
Its complete sequence includes the following cultures:
- Mousterian
- Chatelperronian
- Aurignacian
- Gravettian
- Solutrean
- Magdalenian
- Azilian
Plus unclassified remains of the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze and Iron ages.
It is best known for its mural paintings of the Magdalenian period, depicting bisons, horses, goats and deer.
Its excellent location over the Urdaibai estuary was probably most important in its continued habitation, first by Neanderthals and later by Homo sapiens.
Since 2008, it is one of the caves included as a World Heritage Site within "Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain".
See also
In Spanish: Cueva de Santimamiñe para niños
- Art of the Upper Paleolithic
- List of Stone Age art
