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Life

Found: A pocket guide to prehistoric Spain

By Catherine Brahic and Charles Choi

5 August 2009

Âé¶¹´«Ã½. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Turn left at the circular scratch

(Image: Pilar Utrilla)

Above recognisable depictions of reindeer, a stag and some ibex are what Utrilla's team believe is a representation of the landscape surrounding the cave

Above recognisable depictions of reindeer, a stag and some ibex are what Utrilla’s team believe is a representation of the landscape surrounding the cave

(Image: Pilar Utrilla)

MODERN humans have got it easy. Anyone with a computer can look up just about any location and within seconds bring up a map complete with step-by-step directions from A to B.

The internet and centuries of map-making mean getting to, say, the prehistoric painted caves of France and Spain is child’s play. “But imagine a group of hunter-gatherers, returning to an area they…

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