Analysis of the bacterial communities on paintings and engravings in Doña Trinidad cave (Ardales, Málaga, Spain)

4 pages, 1 figure, 13 references. Electronic Newsletter. CSIC Thematic Network on Cultural Heritage and Network on Science and Technology for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla, CSIC, Apartado de Correos 1052, 41080 Sevilla (Spain). The facilities and support provided by the Consejería de Cultura, Junta de Andalucía are gratefully acknowledged.
Caves often contain rock art paintings some of them dated from the Palaeolithic period, over 20,000 years old. At present, most known rock art paintings are affected by progressive biodeterioration (Holden 2002, 2003, Allemand and Bahn 2005, Sire 2006) and the control and preservation of these environments is a serious problem gathering the interest of scientists and conservators. In the Mediterranean area, several examples of Palaeolithic paintings have been found in caves such as La Pileta and Doña Trinidad, both in Malaga (Spain).
This work was supported by the European Commission, Marie Curie Actions MEST-CT2004-513915.