Ripoll López, SergioBayarri, VicenteMuñoz Ibáñez, Francisco JavierOrtega, RicardoCastillo, ElenaLatova, JoséHerrera, JesúsMoreno Salinas, DavidMartín, Ignacio2025-03-102025-03-102021-10-11Ripoll, Sergio, Vicente Bayarri, Francisco J. Muñoz, Ricardo Ortega, Elena Castillo, José Latova, Jesús Herrera, David Moreno-Salinas, and Ignacio Martín. “Hands Stencils in El Castillo Cave (Puente Viesgo, Cantabria, Spain). An Interdisciplinary Study.” Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 87 (2021): 51–71.2050-2729https://doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2021.11https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14468/26211The registered version of this article, first published in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, is available online at the publisher's website: Cambridge University Press , https://doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2021.11La versión registrada de este artículo, publicado por primera vez en Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, está disponible en línea en el sitio web del editor: Cambridge University Press , https://doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2021.11Our Palaeolithic ancestors did not make good representations of themselves on the rocky surfaces of caves and barring certain exceptions – such as the case of La Marche (found on small slabs of stone or plaquettes) or the Cueva de Ambrosio – the few known examples can only be referred to as anthropomorphs. As such, only hand stencils give us a real picture of the people who came before us. Hand stencils and imprints provide us with a large amount of information that allows us to approach not only their physical appearance but also to infer less tangible details, such as the preferential use of one hand over the other (i.e., handedness). Both new and/or mature technologies as well as digital processing of images, computers with the ability to process very high resolution images, and a more extensive knowledge of the Palaeolithic figures all help us to analyse thoroughly the hands in El Castillo cave. The interdisciplinary study presented here contributes many novel developments based on real data, representing a major step forward in knowledge about our predecessors.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess1203 Ciencia de los ordenadoresartículopalaeolithic rock arthand stencilsnew technologiesdigit ratioManning’s ratiosexual dimorphism in fingers