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The history of the Iberian Peninsula (today’s Spain and Portugal) is busy with migrations, invasions, and the involvement of various people groups. For perspective, Site Timeline records the date of the appearance of Earth as 4.5 billion B.C., the extinction of dinosaurs along with the appearance of primates as 65 million B.C., the first motion picture starring Raquel Welch in 1 million B.C. (this timeline has a sense of humor), and the first anatomically modern humans appear in Africa and migrate across Asia in 130,000-100,000 B. C. In 30,000 B.C., humans probably first appear in North and South America, and cave murals are first drawn in European caves. The European History website notes that in 32,000 B.C., “Neanderthal man is located at Zafarraya, southern Spain, and in 29,000 B.C., “Neanderthals are still evident at Andalusia toward Gibraltar, Spain.” In 25,000 B.C., “archeological discovery of a txistu flute suggests the Basque culture existed at this time in the current territory of France/Spain/Portugal. The Basque are believed to represent the indigenous peoples of Europe and their language is not related to any other language of the world.” Archaeo News shares that genetics is being used to help trace the migration of the Basque from East Africa to Asia and on to where they settled in France and Spain. The cave paintings in northern Spain are thought to be painted by the Basque. Cave art is also located in the south east coastal region of Spain. The paintings show dress, weapons, dancing, and hunting activities. The Magdalenian culture (18,000 to 8,000 B.C.) is an example of cave and antler art, the most elaborate being in northern Spain.
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