The sites are in the eastern part of Spain and contain rock art dating to the Upper Paleolithic or (more likely) Mesolithic periods of the Stone Age.

The art consists of small painted figures of humans and animals, which are the most advanced and widespread surviving from this period, certainly in Europe, and arguably in the world, at least in the earlier works.

It reflects the life of people using primarily hunter-gatherer economic systems, "who gradually incorporated Neolithic elements into their cultural baggage".

Equally some sites continued to attract visitors in later periods, as shown by inscriptions in the Iberian language and Latin, for example at the Caves of El Cogul; these may have been associated with repainting of figures.

[citation needed] The art appears over a wide area, and was created over a period of several thousand years; it is widely accepted that it shows stylistic and thematic development that reflects a long evolution, at least some local variety, and changes in way of life, though agreement on the details of this development is a continuing process.

[10] Some war scenes distinguish between the sides in terms of physical appearance, or dress and weapons, though the interpretation of this is uncertain.

[15] To solve the problem of how to convey the distance between an archer and his distant prey, some sites use a convention of showing the trail of the hunted animal, a sophisticated and effective solution.

A famous dance scene at the Caves of El Cogul shows eleven women in skirts circling a naked man shown with an erect phallus.

The tools represented in Levantine Art are usually arrows, sticks, quivers and bags, and ropes, perhaps used as lassos or trip-ropes.

The paintings may have meanings related to religion or at least "hunting magic", though it is also possible to see them as purely celebrations of a way of life, though including depictions of ceremonies that are religious.

[23] The World Heritage Site includes rock art across an area which stretches from the Pyrenees to the province of Granada, falling within the territory of the autonomous communities of Catalonia, Aragon, Castile-La Mancha, Murcia, Valencia and Andalusia.

The art is commonly found in rock shelters (protected by a natural ledge) and shallow caves in which sunlight can penetrate easily.

The sites are often in ravines in steep valleys that would be relatively little use to farmers, but perhaps ideal for hunting by ambush and stampeding animals into a dead end.

This is a collection of 727 rock shelters, caves, or ravine walls[25] (as listed by UNESCO) that contain a figurative representation, or geometrical design.