Scientists from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution and the University of the Basque Country discovered the campsites in a 13,800 schist slab engraving. The campsites were depicted by hunters and are located in Northeastern Spain. Manuel Vaquero is a researcher at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution. He believes that this Paleolithic engraving of northeastern Spain represents the “first representation of a human group.” Photo of an engraved slab made from schist in Moli del Salt. Paleolithic art rarely depicts features of everyday life and landscapes. The period between 2.6 million and the beginning of the Pleistocene at 10,000 BP is called Paleolithic. Study authors analysed the shape and morphology of an engraved slab of schist that was found recently at the Moli del Salt, northeastern Spain. It dates back to 13,800 year ago. This is also the time of the End of the Upper Paleolithic Period. Seven semicircular motifs, or decorative designs with two rows of internal lines are found on the schist slab. Researchers believe that the motifs are hut-like in their proportions and morphology. Comparative and microscopic analyses show that the seven motifs were all engraved with a short-term technique. The location of Moli del Salt on the Northeastern Iberian Peninsula. The researchers concluded that the engraving depicts a hunting-gatherer camp. They have analysed each motif and its composition. Marcos Garcia-Diez and Mr. Vaquero, both from the University of the Basque Country believe that the engraving may represent the first depiction of the domestic space and the social space of an individual human group. Close-up view of the motif. (Image: Eurekalert. Credit to Garcia-Diez, et.al. In an abstract in the journal, they concluded that “Campsites could be considered the very first human landscape and the most significant area of land where humans have constructed all of its visible features.” They also cited “Looking At the Camp” by Manuel Vaquero and Marcos Garcia-Diez as a Paleolithic depiction of a Campsite for Hunter-Gatherers. PLOS ONE. December 2, 2015. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone. 0143002.
