incorporating contributions by MARTIN BELL, EMILIO RODRI´GUEZ-ALVAREZ, CARLOS RODRI´GUEZ-RELLÁ N and XOSÉ IGNACIO VILASECO VÁ ZQUEZ How can we devise appropriate ways of studying later prehistoric rock art in its wider context, and how can we relate ancient images to the deposits of artefacts found on the same sites? This paper describes the methods adopted in recording a series of carved motifs within a cave located outside the defences of a Chalcolithic hillfort on the Spanish/Portuguese border in Castilla y Leon. It features two quite different series of images, located in separate chambers and divided from one another by a kind of tunnel. Excavation on an artificial terrace outside the cave mouth established a chronological sequence which could be applied to the contents of the different parts of the site. This work suggested that the outer chamber, which features a large number of cup-marks, might have been associated with domestic occupation of a kind found elsewhere on the mountain, whilst the elaborately decorated inner chamber was used over a shorter period and may have played a much more specialised role. Its initial use could have been for burial. In a final phase the entire cave saw the deposition of large numbers of artefacts before its entrance was blocked. Its distinctive layout and the organisation of the decoration suggest that by the 2nd millennium BC it was considered as a natural passage grave.
El noroeste de la Península Ibérica es una región particularmente interesante para el estudio del arte rupestre europeo porque aquí se encuentra el área de transición entre dos importantes tradiciones: el Arte Atlántico, que está típicamente grabado sobre afloramientos al aire libre y el Arte Esquemático pintado, principalmente en abrigos rocosos y cavidades poco profundas. El primero se extiende a lo largo de la fachada atlántica de Galicia occidental y noroeste de Portugal, mientras que este último se extiende desde el sur y centro de Iberia hasta el noreste de Portugal y las provincias españolas de León y Asturias, a lo largo de la cuenca de los ríos Duero, Sil, Navia y Nalón. Hasta el año 2017, resultaba sorprendente la ausencia de pinturas rupestres en el área oriental de Galicia, a pesar de constituir una extensión de esas regiones naturales.El objetivo de este trabajo es proporcionar el primer enfoque integrado de los sitios con pinturas de Arte Esquemático en el noroeste, estableciendo los antecedentes, en cuanto al análisis espacial, sobre el concepto de regiones biogeográficas con el fin de superar los sesgos de estudios anteriores, tradicionalmente confinados a límites administrativos. Ello ofrece una visión general de las diferentes tradiciones del arte prehistórico y sus contextos, evalúa los hallazgos recientes en su contexto más amplio, y investiga los paisajes de las pinturas rupestres, con el fin de establecer estrategias potenciales para futuros estudios de campo en la Galicia oriental.
On the northern fringes of Serra do Extremo, overlooking the valley of the river Minho, the hills of Monte Faro and Monte dos Fortes revealed an exceptional collection of prehistoric rock carvings belonging to the Iberian Atlantic Art tradition. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, A. Leite da Cunha e E. J. Silva studied here the well-known sites of Monte da Laje, Tapada do Ozão e Monte dos Fortes. Between 2013 and 2015, a new research project amplified the numbers to over one hundred carved rocks, amongst which 91 are dated to Late Prehistory. This allows us to acknowledge that this is the largest assemblage of Atlantic Art identified, so far, in Portugal. This paper, which inaugurates the dissemination of the research outcomes, reveals how the project was structured, the methodology adopted and offers a preliminary description of the archaeological sites. Keywords: Late Prehistory; rock carvings; Minho valley; Atlantic Art RESUMO Nas faldas setentrionais da Serra do Extremo sobranceiras ao vale do Minho, as elevações do Monte Faro e Monte dos Fortes revelaram um acervo ímpar de gravuras rupestres pré-históricas pertencentes à denominada Arte Atlântica peninsular. Nos finais dos anos 70 e inícios dos anos 80 do século XX, A. Leite da Cunha e E. J. Silva documentaram aqui os conhecidos sítios do Monte da Laje, Tapada do Ozão e Monte dos Fortes. Entre 2013 e 2015, a prospecção arqueológica realizada no âmbito de um novo projecto de investigação nesta área, permitiu dilatar o acervo para mais de uma centena de rochas decoradas, entre as quais 91 de cronologia pré-histórica. É possível afirmar que estamos perante o maior conjunto de Arte Atlântica identificado, até hoje, em território português. Neste artigo, que inaugura a divulgação dos resultados, revela-se a estrutura do projecto, metodologia adoptada e um primeiro inventário descritivo dos sítios arqueológicos.
RESUMENSe da a conocer la Pedra da Póvoa (Póvoa, Ribeira de Pena), un monolito inédito, grabado con motivos abstractos y un zoomorfo. Consideramos posible fecharlo en la Edad del Hierro del Noroeste Peninsular. Se presentan las condiciones del hallazgo, emplazamiento y descripción tecno-morfológica de los grabados y se plantean algunas consideraciones en torno a su contextualización crono-estilística. ABSTRACT
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