The caves of Rincón de la Victoria, on the eastern stretch of the Costa del Sol are the protagonists of the documentary The Last Traces of the Neanderthals, which is being produced by Spain’s Canal Sur television company. The production team has visited the town’s Cueva de la Victoria and the Galería del Higuerón to find out more about the presence of Neanderthals in Andalucía.

“The team directed by Jesús Moreno Vidal has visited the caves of El Cantal with the idea of obtaining evidence of the presence of these human groups which date back more than forty thousand years and who used the caves of Rincón de la Victoria, which was scientifically proven during research in summer”, explained Rincón’s councillor for tourism, Antonio José Martín.

The documentary looks at fossil footprints found on the beaches of Matalascañas (in the coastal area of Doñana National Park, in Huelva province), which uncovered the traces of a group of people who fished on the beach some 120,000 years ago.

Tourism

Mayor of Rincón de la Victoria, Francisco Salado said that the documentary was of enormous scientific importance and that it would have an impact on the town as a tourist destination. “For Rincón de la Victoria it is a great step forward in the scientific dissemination of its prehistoric caves, following the experience with National Geographic and the collaboration and research agreements signed with the Nerja Cave Research Institute, the University of Cádiz, the First Art Project and the Max Planck Institute in Germany”.

The documentary also includes caves in Ardales and Gibraltar and “shows how Neanderthals lived in different ecosystems and exploited the natural resources around them such as coastline, valleys, mountains and caves,” said Pedro Cantalejo, researcher at the Rincón de la Victoria caves. The documentary is set to be broadcast by Canal Sur in spring 2024.