The Many Faces of Altamira
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Complutum, 5, 1994: 33 1-342 THE MANY FACES OF ALTAMIRA Leslie G. Freeman * Ausm~cr. - This paper tries to explore some dimensions of the uses of the past in the present. The discovery and validation ofAltamira serves as an example of how myths and beliefs have con- ditioned the research about the most important assemblages of Palaeolithic art Professionals should be prepared to recognise how their interpretations are mediated by their mvii background. REsUMEN.- En este trabajo se pretenden detectar ciertas dimensiones de los usos del pasado en el presente. El descubrimiento y la autentWcación de Altamira sirve como ejemplo de cómo mitos y creencias han condicionado la investigación de los conjuntos más importantes de arte paleolíti- co. Los profesionales deberían saber reconocer hasta qué punto sus interpretaciones están media- tizadas por supropio entorno. KEYWORDS: Pa/aeolithicArt. Ant/zrapology. Research condítíons. Present uses of11w past PAL4BAAS Cww Arte Paleolítico. Antropología. Condiciones de la investigación. Usos del pa- sado en el presente. 1, INTRODUCTION One example of prcsent uses of the past is well known to any prehistorian who has worked in It has sometimes asserted that archaeologi- the field. Very often, the countrymen living near an cal research lacks contemporary relevance. On the ñnportanc prebisroric site have fabricated fanciflil ta- contray, cases of archaeological discoveries that ha- les about it. Ihese we generally smile at and ignore. ve practical value today are not hard to find; take for They may be as imaginative as the stories about example the rediscovery of dcxv irrigation and more Christian saints that have grown over the ages inpo- recently Kolata’s reconstruction of the ingeninus and pular tradition -for example, the idea that St. Cecilia productive raised ficíd system of Tiwanaku (Kolata played the organ and saag hymns of praise as she 1993). They have other, less practical, dimensions of was being martyred. There is probably more reía- meaning, as wefl. Prebistoric monuments themselves tionship between the twa domains iban is ordinarily have been turned to use by the modern world in suspected. many ways, acquiring an overlay of meaning that is The study of legends about the painted caves seldom explored by prehistorians. That seems to be is just one interesting aspect of a much broader field, particulary trae for two kind of sites: those with hu- the investigation of the contemporary “meaning” of man interments, and those with important assembla- prehistoric monuments. This topic is huge, involving ges of wall art -the major painted of the Franco- as it does the ways in wliich prehistoric sites and ma- Cantabrian region-. Most discussion of Altamira aud teríals, nr concepts about the past, whether correct nr the other painted caves centers (as it rightfully misguided, are integrated in the countries in which should) on the meaning of the decorations as cultural we work into modern systems of belief and action by manifestations from the prehistoric past. With my governments, political movements, art, religious sys- colleagues, 1 have published several articles trying to tems, cults, legends, etc. In some cases, the modern interpret Altaniira’sdecorations from that standpoirit. uses of the pasÉ ¡nay be as interesting and relevant to Such interpretations oniy telí one part of the story. nur work as the meaxñng of our documents for pre- Other dimensions of meaning are also imporlant. history. * Department ofAnffiropology. University ofChicago. 332 L. O. FREEMAN It is an undeniable fact tihat, in certain ca- 2. TIIE PAST IN THE PRESENT ses, traditional archacological concerns about age, artifact classiflcation, manufacturing techniques, and 2.1. The past is politicized functions may be less enlightening iban information about how the documents from the past have been in- Ideas about the remote past serve as wells- terpreted and used in the ages since their production. prings of ethnic or national identity. Ofien, these Well-referenced examples are not hard to find from ideas are condensed on particular prehistoric monu- later periods. The “Shroud of Turin” was produced at ments, just as monuments truly associated with more a particular time using a specifiable set of techni- recent and historic figures un 115 or Spanish history ques. However, its age, the manner of its production, (say, Independence Hall or the Alcázar de Toledo) in fact alí the details concerning its possible authen- have served to focus patriotic sentiment. Panicular ticity, are, in the case of that particular artifact, of monuments are regarded as paft ofthe local heritage, considerably less importance and interest lo anthro- to be locally venerated nr exploited without interfe- pologists iban the ways inwl’iich the shroud has ser- rence by others, even by te central government. ved as a condensation aud validation of belief, a Where te sentimental charge is greal enough, con- stimulus to behavior, and as a nexus of interpersonal trol of tese monuments and associated symbols may and intergroup relations through the centuries. become a focus of contention between locality and lo- Like the Turin shroud, many prehistoric si- cality, region and nation, nr nation and nation. As tes continixe to have aix important meaning that has we are al aware, Ihe interpretation of prehistoric little or nothing to do with their importance as scien- monuments has oflen been forced into confonnity tific docunxents about prehistoiy. It is my belief that with political doctrines concerning the evolution of as professionals we are obliged to study and report society, or used to justif~ those doctrines and pro- that information. It is an aspect of our documents grains based on ibem. ibat may prove of the greatest importance in recons- Some prehistoric sites are te obligatory loci tructing and understanding the origin and transmis- for civil validation ceremonies; unless te sites are sion of follc belief, or of our own preconceptions and used, the ceremonies lack legitimacy. Better-known motives as prehistorians. There may be signiflcant examples include the triennial Ad Montem festival at patterns and trajectories of belief and behavior that Eton, the annual reading of ibe laws by te Manx can best be seen -or can only be seen- in ibe many parliament on Tynwald Hill, or the use of the Pont- uses of the past in the present. prydd Rocking Stone as a site for political rallies Prehistorians ibemselves have not generally (Michelí 1982). made much systematic attempt to gaiher infonnation Altamira is used as a conceptually legitimi- about ibis topic or to analyze and understand it. Even zing source of identity in a related way. Any Spa- those who do routinely gather and use such knowled- niard writing a general history of Spain is almost ge regard it as somehow trivial and certainly peri- subconsciously and irresistibly compelled to discuss pheral to more central ardhacological concerns. This te cave, as though it were a a prefiguration of cix- “insignificant” infonnation seldom appears un mono- aent Spanish character and values. Spanish histories graphic reports about Palaeolithic sites. The subject devoted to more specialized topics, such as ibe Re- deserves more serious attention: it is relevant notjust conquest, the Discovery, or the Spanish American to prehistorians, but also to other social scientists of War, often make at least a passing reference to ibe a variety of persuasions. No knowledge is ever tri- cave. Latin Americans, ton, may fluid Altamira aix es- vial; supposedly peripheral or unimportant informa- sential reflection of their Spanish heritage (see, for tion of this sort ftequently has practical implications example, Fuentes 1992). There is usually no eanhly for research, facilitating easier relations between te reason why Ihese works need mention Altamira -the archaeologists and te local populace, regional bu- cave is not in any way illustrative of tixeir major ar- reaucracies or national governñxents. Prehistorians gument- but its use as a son of touchstone seems to who have given it due attention have found their in- be felt as a moral obligation. terest rewarded wiib a better understanding of the Territorial claims may be justified by refe- miheu un which they operate. ronce to antiquities real, imagined nr invented. Las- The following outline sketches several as- que nationalism has used the painted Palaeolithic pects of the present uses ofthe past more specifically, caves of France and Spain tojusti1~’ claims that Bas- using Altamira as a prime example. que territory extended much further previously than TI-lE MANY FACES OF ALTAMIRA 333 it does at present. Apellániz’s fine treatment of Pa- seems to be just another modera myth. But archaen- laeoliibic Art, ElArte Paleolítico en el País Vasco y logy may be economically important to non-spe- sus Vecinos (1982), gives so much space to Altamira cialists in many ways. that it has been cited as supporting this contention The University of Chicagos Palaeolithic excava- (though Apellániz himself certainly made no such tions at Torralba aud Ambrona (Soria) during the cíaim). Some non-Basques have uncritically accepted 1960’s, were seasonally the largest employer of local these territorial assertions: Isidro Cicero’s oiberwise labor, and the largest single source of cash inome for excellent juvenile history of Cantabria, ¡‘indio farmers, in an area including a dozenhamlets. In ibe (1979), seems to suggest that Palaeolithic residents 1980’s at Ambrona, excavators found themselves un