World's oldest map: Spanish cave has landscape from 14,000 years ago

Source: Daily Telegraph
By Fiona Govan in Madrid


Photo: EPA

A stone tablet found in a cave in Abauntz in the Navarra region of northern Spain is believed to contain the earliest known representation of a landscape.

Engravings on the stone, which measures less than seven inches by five inches, and is less than an inch thick, appear to depict mountains, meandering rivers and areas of good foraging and hunting.

A team from the University of Zaragoza spent 15 years deciphering the etched lines and squiggles after unearthing the artefact during excavation of the cave in 1993.

"We can say with certainty that it is a sketch, a map of the surrounding area," said Pilar Utrilla, who led the research team.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/5978900/Worlds-oldest-map-Spanish-cave-has-landscape-from-14000-years-ago.html

When in those 15 years did "map of the area" occur to them?

:spray: The things we expect to see often blind us to what is there... :rofl:

is very welcome. I love 'em.

Recommended.

"We can't be sure what was intended in the making of the table..." Pilar Utrilla, who led the research team.