Early humans create paintings at Cave of Altamira in modern-day northern Spain
There are 18 caves in northern Spain which together represent the apogee of Upper Paleolithic cave art in Europe between 35,000 and 11,000 years ago.
Europe
Humans invent maps, perhaps in modern day Czech Republic
A map-like representation of a mountain, river, valleys and routes around Pavlov in the Czech Republic has been dated to 25,000 B.C.E.
Humans invent baskets to gather and store valuables, perhaps in modern-day Eastern Europe
People used baskets as backpacks, as baby carriers, as cupboards, as plates and cups, as cradles, as birdcages, as measuring cups and as sandals, and to catch fish.
Early humans of Austria create the Venus of Galgenberg
The Venus of Galgenberg is one of the earliest examples of figurative art in Europe. The sculpture was discovered in 1988 close to Stratzing, Austria.
Gravettian hunter-gatherers flourish in modern-day Europe
The Gravettian was an archaeological industry of the European Upper Paleolithic that succeeded the Aurignacian circa 33,000 years BP. It is archaeologically the last European culture many consider unified.
Humans create the first star chart, perhaps in modern-day Germany
In 1979, archaeologists recovered a tiny mammoth ivory tablet from a cave in the Swabian Alps of Germany. Decades later, researcher Michael Rappenglueck identified its carved figure as a depiction of the constellation Orion — potentially the oldest known star chart in human history, and possibly a calendar linking the night sky to human fertility.
Humans in modern-day Europe invent flatbread
Starch grains found on grinding stones suggest that prehistoric man may have consumed a type of bread at least 30,000 years ago in Europe, US researchers said.
Humans, perhaps in Europe, invent rope
Impressions of cordage found on fired clay provide evidence of string and rope-making technology in Europe dating back 28,000 years.
Neanderthals create world’s first string
A fragment of string discovered at a Neanderthal rock shelter in southeastern France — dating between 41,000 and 52,000 years ago — is the oldest known direct evidence of fiber technology in human history. Its construction reveals that Neanderthals understood tree seasonality, planned across multiple steps, and grasped basic numerical concepts, upending long-held assumptions about their cognitive abilities.
First known cave art created in modern-day Spain
One motif – a faint red dot – at El Castillo Cave in Spain is said to be more than 40,000 years old.