Historic human painting found at Portugal's Vale do Côa site

In the Vale do Côa Archaeological Park, in northeastern Portugal, a rock painting depicting a human has been discovered. Previously, the site was mainly known for carvings of animals dating back more than 25,000 years.

According to archaeologists from the University of Coimbra, the discovery is the first example of post-Palaeolithic art found in this Portuguese valley.

Aida Carvalho, head of the Côa Parque Foundation, which oversees Vale do Côa, noted that the rock with the painting is an example of Levantine art, which mainly depicts scenes from human life.

Until now, Vale do Côa has been known for thousands of rock carvings with fauna motifs, usually silhouettes of aurochs, horses, deer, and goats, made more than 25,000 years ago.

According to Carvalho, the motif painted on the discovered rock in Vale do Côa is "original" because it demonstrates different artistic expression in this Portuguese valley. It confirms that this place remained an area of human artistic creativity even after the Palaeolithic era.

She added that archaeologists from Coimbra are currently working to determine the entirety of the motif involving the human figure and to establish the age of the rock painting. Preliminary estimates suggest that it was created no earlier than around 4300 BCE.

Levantine art was prevalent in the eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula. A characteristic feature is the prominent motif of collective scenes involving humans. These are usually depicted in motion, for example, during hunts, rituals, or battles.

In the Vale do Côa Archaeological Park, discovered in 1992 and added to the UNESCO World Heritage list six years later, several rock paintings have been found in the past. However, they did not depict humans.