Characteristic remains of the Palæolithic civilization have been found in numerous localities throughout Central Europe, among which the following may be noted:
Chancelade, Combe-Capelle, La Ferrassic, La Mouthe, Combarelles, Cap-Blanc and La Micoque, all in the Dordogne district. La Quina, Petit Puymoyen, Placard and Mont- gaudier (Charente); Chapelle-aux-Saints (Corrèze); Altamira (north-east of Spain); Niaux (Ariège); Marsoulas (Haute-Garonne); Lorthet (Haute-Pyrenées); the rock-shelter of Schweizersbild, near Schaaffhausen; the Grimaldi caves near Mentone, and the station of Krapina (Croatia).
In some of these stations a new phase in the culture of the Palæolithic people has been recently brought to light, viz. the habit of adorning the walls of the caves by figures of animals drawn, sometimes in incised lines, or painted in different colours, and sometimes sculptured in bas-relief. Over a score of these wall-painted caverns are now on record, the earliest, that of Altamira, having been discovered in 1875, but for upwards of ten years it remained under a suspicion that the drawings were not of the Palæolithic period. Ultimately other analogous discoveries came to light in the caves of La Mouthe, Pair-non-Pair, Marsoulas, Combarelles, etc., which soon dispelled the doubt raised about the genuineness of the Altamira paintings. Now Altamira holds a pre-eminent position as one of the greatest marvels of Palæolithic art.
