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group effort, suggesting tasking or division of labor. in order to date the works, scientists have taken very thin films of calcium car- bonate (calcite) deposits that form on top of the paintings and applied these films to refined uranium-thorium dating technol- ogy. e testers took advantage of state-of- the-art mass spectrometry, meaning they didn't require much material for the sample. is has helped to reduce damage to the paintings, but sadly, faulty treatment in some european caves has resulted in the disappearance of other fragile cave paint- ings. After studying tito Bustillo's calcite crusts, scientists believe that some of its faintly seen painted red dots may go back at least 40,800 years, opening up the possibil- ity that neanderthals could have founded this rustic gallery. moreover, researchers now believe that generations of early homo sapiens continued painting the horses over an astoundingly long period of time, per- haps as long as 10,000 years. But the horses' existence still raises countless questions. Were the painters tell- ing a whole story (no small intellectual feat) or attempting graphically to understand the animal—its anatomy, its grace, its speed, its personality? Could the lack of hunt- ing scenes indicate that horses were indeed revered, as some archeologists maintain, as divine animals in the paleolithic period? in a cave so large as the tito Bustillo, why did the artists choose to paint over earlier work? And what of the placement, so high on the walls? did they suspect something might happen to the paintings if they were left at eye level? hopefully these questions and many more will be answered in time, but tito Bustillo's beautiful underground cathedral makes one thing very clear: humans' awe of horses is a tale as old as time. Some of the horses found in the Tito Bustillo cave measure as large as six feet across. See It For YourSelF Visits to the Tito Bustillo cave, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located near the coast of Northern Spain, must be pre-arranged, as the number of daily visitors to the cave is strictly observed. Be sure to check their visiting hours at centrotitobustillo.com. Visitors are taken through the cave with a flashlight-equipped guide. There is very minimal electricity in the cave, and in places it is a bit slick underfoot. Photography is not allowed. Moreover, guests are prohibited from touching the cave's beautiful stalagmites and stalactites. Even with these precautions, moss has been found growing in one area of the cave—a potential threat to the continued sustainability of the cave images. Guiding is only provided in Spanish, but English-only speakers shouldn't be deterred from visiting. Set aside at least 1½ hours to first visit the excellent Spanish/English cave museum, located next to the modern cave entrance. tHE HorsE in art 90 w i n t e r 2 014 U n tac k e d

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