Bacteria isolated from rock art paintings: the case of Atlanterra shelter (south Spain)

Abstract

The Sierra de la Plata is an Aljibe yellow sandstone formation from the Acheulian period. There are a few shelters, some of them with rock art paintings. The most representative one, and subjected to anthropogenic pressure, is that of Atlanterra, situated in a residential area. This shelter contains some rock art paintings made with iron oxides. The bacteria present in these paintings were isolated and identified using an automatic method: fatty acid methyl esters profiling. Most of the bacteria belong to the Bacillus genus, B. megaterium being the most abundant species. The isolated strains are able to reduce hematite. This is significant due to the fact that Fe(III)-(hydr)oxides are the most abundant pigments in rock art.