Cave painting of a bison in the Altamira cave, Spain. This cave contains several paintings of bisons, horses, deer and other animals that inhabited the area at the time, made using ochre, charcoal and haematite. The paintings were made in the upper palaeolithic (stone age) period, specifically in Solutrean (around 18,500 years ago) and Magdelenean (16,50014,000 years ago) times. The cave was unoccupied by humans between these times. As well as the paintings, numerous artifacts from the two cultures were found. The cave was sealed by a rockfall some 13,000 years ago, and was rediscovered in the 1870s, after nearby quarry blasting disturbed the rocks.