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Claw marks of an extinct creature have been discovered in a Spanish cave — a breakthrough
Scientists have been investigating caves in southeastern Spain. In one of them they found traces of the claws of a bear that went extinct some 28,000 years ago. Scientists say the discovery sheds new light on our knowledge of prehistory.
The cave bear is a species of mammal from the bear family that lived in Europe during the Middle Paleolithic period. The animal’s name is linked to their distinctive lifestyle, as the creatures mainly inhabited caves.
It was in European caves that their remains were usually found. Scientists have so far suspected that while it may have inhabited the entire continent, the largest habitats were in the territory of present-day Germany, Switzerland and Slovakia.
Cave bears played an important role in the lives of early humans
During the Pleistocene era, cave bears were a very common species. Recent studies have shown that about 300,000 years ago, when the first representatives of Homo sapiens appeared in Europe, there were frequent interactions between the first humans and Ursus spelaeus. That’s because our ancestors also sought refuge in caves, and bears lived in both warmer and colder parts of the continent.
