Caves of Nerja

The Caves of Nerja are a series of caverns close to the town of Nerja in the Province of Málaga, Spain [1]. The caves were re-discovered in modern times on 12 January 1959 by five friends, who entered through a narrow sinkhole known as "La Mina" [1]. The cave is divided into two main parts known as Nerja I and Nerja II [1]. Skeletal remains found in the caverns indicate that they were inhabited from about 25,000 BC up until the Bronze Age [1]. Cave paintings from the Paleolithic and post-Paleolithic eras have been discovered on the walls of the cave [1]. For about 4,000 years from 25,000 BC the caves were used seasonally by a small group of humans, and were occupied by cave hyena during the periods that the humans were absent [1]. By 21,000 BC the human population had taken up year-round residence in the caves and had increased in number [1].