New research conducted by scientists has revealed that pre-historic cave paintings may not be the work of one generation, but the combined efforts of many, with each one adding to and enhancing the paintings, in some cases for as long as 20,000 years.

Until now it had been difficult to pinpoint exactly when the paintings were created, but scientists had always assumed that they had been completed within short periods of time. This new revelation will provide paleontologists with valuable clues about how early human culture evolved, as the first modern humans moved across Europe, more than 40,000 years ago.

The research is being led by Dr. Alistair Pike, an archeologist with Bristol University in U.K, who believes that if the paintings can be dated accurately, we will be able to deduce who created them by connecting them with the artifacts found under the ground. The two together would provide invaluable clues about where, when and how these humans lived.

These new discoveries have been made possible thanks to a technique called uranium series dating that was developed to date rock formations like stalactites and stalagmites . It involves comparing the ratio of uranium to another element known as thorium within the cave layers.

Prior to this scientists used to try guess the age of the paintings by analyzing the charcoal or paints that had been used. However, that only provided them with when the charcoal or paint was made, not when the painting was created.

Uranium series dating is currently being used to re-date cave paintings, and scientists are finding out that in most cases they have miscalculated their age by several thousand years.

One such example is the famous cave paintings in Altamira caves in Southern Spain, where the paintings were thought to be about 14,000 years old. However the new technique has revealed that some of the paintings go back 25,000 years, whilst the newest ones are only 11,000 years old.

As more cave paintings get re-dated, our previous theories about the evolution of the modern human(s) may be radically altered.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk, Yahoo.com