Police are investigating the defacement of 6,000-year-old cave paintings in southern Spain. Authorities say the ancient evidence of humankind’s creative drive was damaged when a local man splashed water on them. Why? He was trying to dress them up for a photo for his Facebook page.
These murals are located in the Sierra Sur de Jaén mountain range in the province of Jaén, Spain. They are some of the oldest murals in the world and have been recognized by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site alongside Stonehenge and the Great Wall of China.
Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that police are investigating a 39-year-old man from the neighboring city of Los Villares for his alleged involvement in the crime. Police began their investigation in May after photos of the submerged cave paintings were posted online.
People love to take pictures of paintings, and it’s a normal instinct. What’s unusual is that the man pours water on the paintings to make them sparkle while taking the photo. After taking the photo, the man uploaded the photo to Facebook and tagged his location. It wasn’t difficult for the authorities to track him down.
Fools trying to score social media points are just the latest threat to ancient cave art. In 2022, vandals spray-painted a large Spanish flag over another nearby cave painting. The flag was so large it was visible from the nearby road. Something similar happened in Australia (also in 2022), where vandals defaced 3,000-year-old rock art.
Vandalism is bad, but the inevitable passage of time and climate change are the two biggest threats to these irreplaceable works of art. As the planet warms and sea levels rise, we are losing access to some of these artistic wonders. It may soon become difficult to even see them, let alone protect them from fools who would immortalize them on social media.
In the south of France, there’s a cave filled with paintings of prehistoric sea creatures, penguins, seals, fish, carts, bears, and more. To get there, you have to dive into the Mediterranean Sea and navigate an underwater cave. Sea levels have risen significantly over the past decade, making it increasingly difficult to navigate the cave. To make matters worse, the rising tides are starting to wash away some of the artwork.
Whether it’s through clout-seeking social media addicts or man-made climate change, humans are a destructive force in all of our artistic endeavors.