Cueva Antón

Cueva Antón is a paleoanthropological and archeological site in the Region of Murcia of southeast Spain [1]. The cave is located about 60 kilometers from the Mediterranean port city of Cartagena inland in the territory of the municipality of Mula [1]. It was eroded by the Río Mula and served as a cave in the Middle Palaeolithic inhabited by Neanderthals [1]. The cave became internationally known in 2010, after a shell at least 43,000 years old with adhering orange pigment was discovered there [1]. The find from the Cueva Antón was published together with similar finds from the Cave of Los Aviones; they were named as the first such Neanderthal jewelry found in Europe [1]. The rock of the cave is Eocene limestone [1]. It is at the base of a 25 meter high cliff on the bank of the Río Mula [1].