Canada do Inferno panel no. 1 (30,000-25,000 years old)

Prior to the discovery of the Côa valley open-air rock-art, it was largely assumed that the Palaeolithic rock art was circumscribed to caves and rock shelters In 1981, at Mazouco, 40 km to the northeast from the Côa mouth, a figure of a horse, obtained by pecking, was attributed to the Palaeolithic. Unexpectedly, during the 80s and 90s, more carvings, stylistically attributed to the Palaeolithic, were found elsewhere in the Iberian Peninsula and in southern France. The first rock art site of the Côa Valley to be discovered was Canada do Inferno, during an assessment of the impact of the construction of a dam. After a period of intense debate, in December 1996, the construction of the dam was cancelled.