Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin: Difference between revisions

The whole Mediterranean rock art in the Iberian Peninsula is a cultural property belonging to World Heritage, according to the Unesco declaration in 1998. This is a collection of rock art sites in the eastern half of Spain, notable for the large number of places you have this type of art, the largest concentration in Europe. Its name refers to the Mediterranean Basin: While some sites are located near the sea, many of them are at home, in communities such as Aragon and Castile-La Mancha.

This art was more or less contemporary with Neolithic art schematic, both being situated chronologically between more or less the 10,000 a. C.hasta the appearance of the first objects of Copper (Chalcolithic) around 4,500 a. C. The belief system also expression of peoples farmers is radically different from predatory groups authors Mediterranean Art, trained in the abstract, as can be seen in the spatial coincidences that occur in some territories of both.

It was first discovered in Teruel in 1903. Juan Cabre was the first to study this art, defining it as a regional Palaeolithic art. Then it was considered an art parallel to the Paleolithic group paintings found in caves. In that case would be conducted by an alleged group capsiense from North Africa. Beltran was the first to place the beginning of this art or Mesolithic Mesolithic groups, placing its heyday in the Neolithic period. Accepted post-Paleolithic age, Gravel made in the 1960s a new chronological scheme, dividing the art into four stages: naturalistic, stylized, static, dynamic and stylish final phase of transition to the schematic.

Features

It is considered that Levantine art is expressed primarily in paintings, his focus is the spiritual life (?) Of the man whose figure is represented in a more simplified. There is no hierarchy in the scenes. You see the artist's attempt to place the elements of his painting in space. A clear example of this art is "The dancers of Cogul" where you can see how it represents the movement.

The human figure (anthropomorphism), which is rare in Paleolithic Art in the Levantine Art acquires great importance. In this way you can do with some frequency which is the main theme, and when it appears in the same scene that animals can be clearly seen is the human figure which runs. There are scenes of men performing common tasks of that period such as: hunting, dancing, fighting, running for farming, domestication of animals, gathering honey, etc. In the representation of the human body there are drawings of heads with certain characteristics: the pear and the hemispherical and conical. Are represented at least bare chest and sometimes with a kind of pants. Sometimes sex is often seen and there are phallic representations.

The instruments represented in the illustrations are often arrows, sticks, quivers and bags. These objects are always associated with the human figure. The vegetation is very little discussed in the Levantine art.

Usually protagosnista nature and especially the fauna (zoomorphism) which is the subject of representation, can find some paintings there corresponencia how some of the current species: deer, goats (the animal most frequently depicted in the illustrations), cattle (very doubtful and are almost an interpretation) that they appear singly or grouped in packs. Rarely been depicted dogs and they appear to help in a hunting scene (Barranc de la Palla). The representation of animals is very curious in that the animals are generally drawn in profile but with horns and hooves of the front.

Location

The set of rock art sites comprising Mediterranean from the Pyrenees to the province of Granada, in the territory of the autonomous communities of Catalonia, Aragon, Castile-La Mancha, Murcia, Valencia and Andalusia. He had been declared of Bien de Interés Cultural in 1985. One of the towns where the paintings are in a better state is in Ulldecona, province of Tarragona. In Ulldecona are also the largest set of paintings of Catalonia. This small town lies a great story Interpretation Centre art rock art.

It is commonly found in rock shelters (protected by a natural ledge) and not in shallow caves in which sunlight can penetrate easily. There is no clear preference on the place is: it can be in the middle or top of any of the coats. For the general situation in these sites has a poor maintenance. [Edit] List of protected sites

This is a collection of 727 rock shelters, caves, huts or ravines (as listed by UNESCO) that found a figurative representation, geometrical shapes, ranging from scenes of hunting, gathering, or war dance including human figures and animals.

The sites are distributed as follows among the 16 provinces in the 6 regions already mentioned:

• Valencian Community: 301 places; main article: Rock Art of the Mediterranean region of the Iberian Peninsula in the Valencian Community.
  • Province of Alicante: 130 places.
  • Province of Castellón: 102 places.
  • Province of Valencia: 69 places.
• Aragón: 132 places.
  • Province of Teruel: 67 places.
  • Province of Huesca: 47 places.
  • Province of Zaragoza: 18 places.
• Castile-La Mancha: 93 places.
  • Province of Albacete: 79 places.
  • Province of Cuenca: 12 places.
  • Province of Guadalajara: 2 places.
• Region of Murcia: 72 places.
• Andalusia: 69 places.
  • Province of Jaén: 42 places.
  • Province of Almería: 25 places; main article: Rock Art of the Mediterranean Iberian Peninsula in Almeria.
  • Province of Granada: 2 places.
• Catalonia: 60 places.
  • Province of Tarragona: 39 places.
  • Province of Lleida: 16 places.
  • Province of Barcelona: 5 places.

The Committee on Culture of the Parliament of Andalusia approved the May 25, 2006 request that the rock art of the provinces of Malaga and Cadiz as part of the Mediterranean rock art of the Iberian Peninsula.

Bibliography

• Anna Alonso Tejada i Alexandre Grimal: The cave paintings of Cueva de la Vieja, Town council of Alpera, 1990 (ISBN 84-86919-20-7).
• Anna Alonso Tejada i Alexandre Grimal: Introduction to Art Levantine through a single season: the Cueva de la Vieja (Alpera, Albacete), Cultural Association Malecon Alpera, 1999 (ISBN 84-605-9066-6).
• Anna Alonso Tejada i Alexandre Grimal: L´Art Rupestre del Cogul. Primeres Imatges Humanes a Catalunya, Pagès Editors, LLeida, 2007 (ISBN 978-84-9779-593-7)
• Manuel Bendala Galán: The Antiquity: From Prehistory to the Visigoths, Silex, 1997 (ISBN 84-7737-021-4)

External links

• UNESCO
• Website about Spanish World Heritage Sites - Arte Rupestre del Arco Mediterráneo Peninsular