The Cova de la Font Major in Catalonia has welcomed visitors for more than six decades, yet nobody noticed its prehistoric art until 2019. Researchers have now catalogued about 280 engravings, including 55 animals such as horses, deer, goats and a bear, writes Futura Sciences in French. They were missed because the rough conglomerate walls seemed unfit for art, and because tourist graffiti covered many figures.

The engravings sit on thin, softer layers of marl. Radiocarbon dates of human presence point to roughly 40,000 to 25,000 years ago. A good lesson in how expectations shape what we see, even when the evidence is right in front of us.

Source: Morgane Gillard, Futura Sciences (French) (2026-11-06)
https://www.futura-sciences.com/sciences/actualites/homo-sapiens-pendant-60-ans-milliers-touristes-sont-passes-devant-tresor-prehistorique-espagne-jamais-voir-139123/

Summarised by the FTI newsdesk.