The technology of the earliest European cave paintings: El Castillo Cave, Spain

The red disks from El Castillo Cave are among the earliest known cave paintings. Here, we combine the morphometric and technological study of red disks from two areas located at the end of the cave with the microscopic, elemental, and mineralogical analysis of the pigment and compare the results obtained with observations derived from experimental replication. Ergonomic constraints imply that a number of disks were made by adults, and the differences in pigment texture and composition suggest that they correspond to an accumulation through time of panels made by different persons who shared neither the same technical know-how nor, very possibly, the same symbolic system. [Display omitted] •Technology and morphology of red disks from El Castillo Cave are analyzed.•Disks and pigment samples are studied by EDXRF, μ-XRD, SEM-EDS, μ-Raman.•Results identify clear differences in technology and pigment composition.•Disk clusters were made by different persons, at different times.