A collection of 5,000-year-old cave paintings depicting various figures and symbols has been discovered in Spain. The drawings were discovered in the rocky area of San Juan, near the town of Albuquerque in the province of Badajoz in western Spain. They are around 4 inches in length and include some anthropomorphic figures, as well as an arrow and other symbols, according to Spanish daily newspaper La Vanguardia. The doodlings were discovered by Agustín Palomo, an historic researcher who lives locally to the caves, while he was looking for a type of tomb known as a Dolmen. Mr Palomo immediately recognised their significance, given their location not far from two other well-known sets of cave drawings - 'Risco de San Blas', of the Sierra de la Carava and those of Azagala - the latter of which were only discovered around 20 years ago.

Researchers now believe that language might have developed from cave drawings. Specifically, they think the ancient artwork located in caves with good acoustics might have inspired humans to develop the vocal communication that exists today. A new report on the theory from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology hinges on the fact that caves allow for echoes. The researchers think that previously discovered cave drawings prove that the fundamental parts of speech were derived from artwork. The MIT team that worked on the new analysis said that taking a look in the depths of ancient caves can provide modern humans with answers about where languages stemmed from.