DESCRIPTION
OF THE CENTRES
The assemblage is composed of animal depictions, of
naturalistic style, which, in all cases, are located in the open-air and on the smooth
surfaces of the schist outcrops of the massif of Santa María la Real de Nieva.
The distribution map of the currently known
assemblages of incisions of palaeolithic age reveals the existence of eight well
differentiated groups that are separated by apparently "empty" spaces. These
groups are, from south to north: Santa María la Real de Nieva, Ortigosa del Pestaño, El
Cerro de San Isidro, Canteras, Miguelañez, Valdebernardo-Cañamares, Río Eresma and
Dehesa de Carbonero.
The sites of Cerro de San Isidro, Canteras and
Dehesa de Carbonero contain more than 95% of the depictions, while the rest display a far
lower density.
The existence of "empty" spaces in which engravings have not been found
doubtless has a taphonomic and geological explanation in accordance with the schist
outcrops which generally have a greater vertical development on hills that have not been
altered by ploughing or by schist mining.
1.-
Dehesa de Carbonero (Carbonero el Mayor) It is located approximately at kilometre 5.5, to
the north of the road from Carbonero el Mayor to Navas de Oro, at about 830 metres above
sea level, and comprises 9 rocks, 12 panels and 16 figures, among which, in contrast to
the previous site, caprids are absent. Natural springs are abundant in this zone.
2.- Río
Eresma (Bernardos). At kilometre 7 on the road from Bernardos to Carbonero el Mayor, at
the same height as the Molino del Puente and the electrical substation of "Puente de
piedra" on both banks of the river Eresma at 880 metres above sea level. It has 2
rocks, 5 panels and only one figure, at about 30 metres above the river's present level.
We have not found any engravings below this height.
3.- Valdebernardo-Cañamares
(Bernardos). We discovered two rocks and two panels here, which contain only two figures,
a caprid and an equid, in the vicinity of the stream of Valle, about 9 metres above its
present bed, and at 900 m above sea level. This stream is a tributary of the River Eresma,
on its left bank.
4.- Miguelañez
(Miguelañez) Located at the northern limit of the village that gives its name to the
municipality, at 900 m above sea level, it has only two figures on a single rock. As in
the case of Ortigosa del Pestaño, it is far from any water course.
5.-
Canteras (Domingo García) Second in importance after the Cerro de San Isidro, and located
to the west and on the opposite slope of Cuesta Grande at 920 m above sea level, near an
ancient lake. Seven rocks with engravings have been discovered, with 14 panels and at
least 37 figures, among which are some outstanding caprids.
6.- Cerro
de San Isidro (Domingo García). This is the most important centre of the whole region,
with more than 50 palaeolithic figures. It is located on the hillside of Cuesta Grande to
the S-SE of the municipality of Domingo García at 940-980 m above sea level, among
numerous springs. Schist outcrops are scattered all over this hill and around the Chapel
of San Isidro, and it is on these that the palaeolithic and postpalaeolithic engravings
were made, extending for approximately a square kilometre. A total of 19 rocks and 39
panels have been documented, on which 57 figures of palaeolithic style have been
identified, as well as numerous postpalaeolithic engravings.
7.- Ortigosa
del Pestaño (Ortigosa del Pestaño) In the environs of this municipality, at 850 m above
sea level, very close to this village and far from water courses. Among the numerous
traces discovered on three panels not one figure has yet been identified.
8.-
Santa María la Real de Nieva (Santa María la Real de Nieva). This is the southernmost of
the centres found to date, near the road that leads to Ortigosa del Pestaño and the
stream of San Benito, at 908 m above sea level; we have located palaeolithic engravings
that are currently being studied.
Among the great quantity of traces observed in the
different panels, we have been able so far to identify a total of 115 figures, which
constitute a bestiary that features the fundamental presence of four species: equids,
cervids, caprids and bovids. In addition, there is a group of engravings classed as
"indeterminate" in which we have included those figures, most of them
incomplete, which display no anatomical features that provide an identification at the
taxonomic level.
The most
extensive centre, which displays the greatest concentration of figures, is the Cerro de
San Isidro. In general terms and as regards species, what stands out is the predominance
of equids both in absolute numbers and in percentage, while the caprids are primarily of
importance at Canteras (68,7%) and bovids at Cerro de San Isidro (77,7%). Another
significant feature is the distribution, with high percentages, of cervids at Cerro de San
Isidro (50%) and Canteras (38,8%). Finally, it is worth pointing out the absence of
caprids at Dehesa de Carbonero and of bovids in the "others".
Among the
species represented in the assemblage of Domingo García and within the total number of
identified figures (115), the outstanding feature is the high percentage of equids
(37,3%), a trend that recurs in almost all the geographical areas differentiated within
the assemblage. The second group is that of indeterminate figures (25,2%), and is
significant for the high number of figures that appear incomplete or damaged by natural or
anthropic factors. Cervids and caprids have very similar percentages, around 15,6% and
13,9%, while bovids are the least represented species, with only 7,8% of the total.
The fact that
practically half the figures are concentrated in the centre of the Cerro de San Isidro may
be explained by the greater extent and importance of the rocky outcrops that provide a
great number of surfaces suitable for engravings. This factor can also be observed in the
centre of Canteras (32,1%) --a continuation of the previous site. The rest of the centres
are much lower and more remote from each other: Dehesa de Carbonero (13,9%) and
"others" (4,3%), despite the latter including four independent geographical
foci.
With regard to the distribution of species in each centre, the Cerro de San Isidro
displays a trend similar to the one observed in the region with a marked predominance of
equids. It is worth remarking that caprids and bovids reverse their percentages, since
this is the only centre in which bovids have a higher percentage than caprids. The
Canteras area presents a series of peculiarities with regard to the assemblage's general
trends. On the one hand, the percentages are very similar for all the species, between 20
and 27%, with the exception of bovids which are only represented by a single engraved
depiction. On the other hand, it is worth noting that caprids, together with the
indeterminate figures, represent a higher percentage than the equids, which gives this
centre a peculiarity to which we shall return later.
Equids are
clearly predominant in their percentage at Dehesa de Carbonero (68,7%). In this area one
finds a confirmation of the trend that numbers of horses are so striking that they wipe
out the other species: one cervid (6,2%), one bovid (6,2%), and no caprid). The exception
is a high percentage of indeterminates or incomplete figures (18,7%).
The percentages of species in the centres that we
have grouped under the term "others" have little significance because of their
low total number of depictions: one equid and one caprid at Valdebernardo, one cervid at
Miguelañez, and two indeterminates, at Miguelañez and Río Eresma.
In the distribution of each species in the different
areas, we can observe that the equids confirm the prominence of the Cerro de San Isidro
over the other analysed foci. In this centre we find more than 50% of the total of equids
(53,4%) in the bestiary. Canteras and Dehesa de Carbonero have a similar percentage of
around 20% - 25% and, finally, one should stress the scant presence of this species in the
rest of the foci included in the "others" group, with just one figure at
Valdebernardo-Cañamares.
Cervids are
almost exclusively limited to the centres of Cerro de San Isidro and Canteras, with the
two combined accounting for 90% of the depictions of this species. Only two other examples
are known, at Dehesa de Carbonero and Miguelañez, the latter being included in the
"others" group.
Of the various foci that have been differentiated,
it is the Canteras area which displays the greatest number of caprids, with a
concentration here of two thirds of the total number of figures of this species. At the
Cerro de San Isidro, the percentage is around 25%, while very few are to be found in the
"others" group, with only one figure at Valdebernardo-Cañamares, or even none
as in the case of Dehesa de Carbonero.
With the exception of two bovids depicted at Dehesa
de Carbonero and Canteras, the remaining engravings attributable to this species are found
at Cerro de San Isidro (77,7%), a fact which further corroborates the prominence of this
centre in the assemblage.
Within the group of indeterminates we have included,
as mentioned earlier, those figures which are difficult to identify as a particular
species, either because their state of conservation makes the task difficult, because they
display no identifying features, or because, finally, they were left incomplete when made.
The investigations carried out up to now reveal that, once again, it is the Cerro de San
Isidro and Canteras which contain the great majority of these engravings. Hence, both
centres combined account for 82,7%, as opposed to 10,3% at Dehesa and 6,8% in the
"others".
To summarise, among the species represented in the
palaeolithic engravings of the open-air assemblage of Domingo García, equids clearly
predominate, followed by "indeterminates", cervids, caprids and, in final place,
bovids. With regard to geographical distribution, what stands out is that the Cerro de San
Isidro, which is also the biggest site, accounts for almost half of the engravings,
followed by Canteras and, to a lesser extent, Dehesa de Carbonero and "others".
A series of peculiarities can be observed:
a) The abundance of
caprids in a particular area, Canteras, leads one to suggest the possibility of a
relationship between centre and species, especially when this number represents almost the
totality of caprids that exist in the entire assemblage.
b) A similar
relationship can be applied in the case of Dehesa de Carbonero and equids. In this case,
it is caused not by a greater number of equids, but by its percentage within the centre.
It is significant that not one depiction of caprids has been found in this area.
c) In the case of
bovids, one can see this relationship between centre and species once again, since, in a
similar way to the caprids, all the figures, apart from two, are found in the Cerro de San
Isidro.
d) Cervids, by contrast, have a uniform distribution in the assemblage. They
appear to be equally distributed in Cerro de San Isidro and Canteras, but are practically
absent in the rest of the foci. Something very similar occurs with the distribution of the
"indeterminates."
In any case, and in the absence of a more detailed
study of species-centre relationships, one might present as a working hypothesis that
these relationships between animal and landscape were a reflection of a greater variety in
the environment in the surrounding areas at the end of the Pleistocene. This seems to be
suggested by the ecological characteristics of the species, on the grounds that cervids
predominate in the undergrowth, bovids and equids in herbaceous prairies, and caprids in
craggy areas.
