In addition to the previously mentioned cave paintings, research conducted at Complutense University in Madrid has uncovered a variety of older cave paintings. The team adds information lacking from earlier photographic photos in a study titled "Animals hidden in plain sight: stereoscopic recording of Paleolithic rock art at La Pasiega cave, Cantabria," which was published in Antiquity.
Using brand-new digital stereoscopic recording techniques, the researchers went back to the rock art in La Pasiega cave and found previously overlooked animal figures there. They specifically found previously unidentified new representations of horses, deer, and a huge bovid (perhaps an aurochs).
Previously, several figures were thought to be unfinished, as though the artist abandoned the rendering midway through. These partial forms were reimagined as complete animal representations thanks to stereoscopic photography and a greater understanding of how real rock formations were incorporated into the artwork.
The researchers were able to establish relationships between the photos and the variations in the cave's rock walls thanks to stereoscopic photography. In conventional two-dimensional images, these relationships were difficult to see.
The ancient artist exploited the surrounding environment to enrich or become a part of the artwork by blending natural rock features into the representations, resulting in a harmonious coexistence of man-made and natural elements. The approach can give the depicted persons and scenes depth and three-dimensionality.
The cave walls' topographical details might have also served as creative inspiration for the artists. Pareidolia, the psychological phenomena of seeing accidental forms in nature, such as seeing shapes in clouds, may have occurred to cave dwellers. If a rock outcrop vaguely resembles a horse's head, the artist may visualize the entire form, filling in the remaining features.
One recently found horse image, for instance, is crimson with irregularly spaced dots and measures about 460 by 300mm. The corner of the mouth, an eye, an ear, and the start of the cervico-dorsal line are all depicted on the head. The head and chest of the figure are outlined by fractures in the rock, which are natural elements of the cave wall. A concave portion of the wall is accommodated by the cervical-dorsal line.
Another horse, measuring 600mm from head to hindquarters, is painted in yellow ochre. The head, mane, back, and hindquarters are the previously named painted anatomical parts. The authors propose that a rock edge defines the horse's belly, with natural rock fissures also defining the foreleg, taking into account the contour of the rock surface. The surface of the natural granite conjures various anatomical aspects even without paint.
The team was able to find numerous links between photos and cave rock wall abnormalities using stereoscopic images that are not apparent in traditional photography. La Pasiega cave serves as a great illustration of a location where earlier studies primarily focused on describing the art based on color, form, and painting or engraving technique, with only sporadic mention of the natural rock surfaces.
As the two aspects cannot be separated, the authors come to the conclusion that paleolithic rock art should be defined by more than only drawn, painted, or engraved signs but also by the topographical features of the rock on which they are inscribed.