In 1879 Maria de Sautuola, the eight-year-old daughter of the Spanish amateur archaeologist Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, noticed paintings of bison on the ceiling of the cave of Altamira, in Cantabria, when exploring while her father dug in the floor. He realised they were ancient and published his claim in 1880, but experts, especially in France, accused him of forgery because they thought prehistoric people were incapable of such art. He died in 1888 without being believed. After similar discoveries in France, the paintings, some 36,000 to 14,000 years old, were accepted as authentic in 1902.
Before and after
- 1879Invention of incandescent light bulb
- 1879Discovery of scandium
- from 1879 to 1915South African Wars
- 1879Construction of Derby Museum and Art Gallery
- 1879Altamira cave paintings are discovered
- from 11 January 1879 to 4 July 1879Anglo-Zulu War
- from 22 January 1879 to 23 January 1879Battle of Rorke's Drift
- 23 February 1879Birth of Kazimir Malevich
- 14 March 1879Birth of Albert Einstein
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- from 1760 to 1820Industrial Revolution
- 15 July 1799The Rosetta Stone is found
- 16 March 1815Founding of Kingdom of the Netherlands
- 27 September 1822Champollion deciphers the hieroglyphs
- 17 December 1907Founding of Bhutan
- 7 August 1908Discovery of Venus of Willendorf
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.