Moli del Salt Map
Moli del Salt is a rockshelter site located in northwestern Iberia. The site dates back to the Paleolithic era over 13,000 years ago. Excavation began in 1999 and has continued ever since with many unique finds from the hunter-gatherer society. One slab stands out from the rest and is considered by some to be one of the first maps in human history.
The slab measures about 18 cm wide, 8.5 cm high, and 3.6 cm thick. It may look like just a crumbling rock, but Marcos Garcia-Diez and Manuel Vaquero recently conducted a study that took a much closer look at the slab. Etched into the rock are seven semicircular motifs which look very similar to the huts built by the hunter-gatherers of the period. Another reason why they believe that the shapes are representations is because there are seven, which was the typical size of a hunter-gatherer camp for the period.
While it might not seem like much to have a slab showing seven huts, it is something very unique in terms of Paleolithic art. Typically the art of the period is abstract symbols or animals. If it truly does show a hunter-gathering camp as the latest study suggests, then it would be the first known representation of a social structure, and the oldest known map in the world.
One thing that the study did reveal was that the etching was done quickly, which means that it was likely done while the person was looking at the camp. The huts are spaced and arranged just like the camp would be and with the same characteristics of a rock shelter. Further investigation at the location uncovered more artifacts, which led some to believe that the map may have depicted the very camp they uncovered, and that the map had been kept at the site.