BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION

Fig. 3.- Altamira . Painting representing a bison. Fig. 3.-Cueva de Altamira. Pintura representando un bisonte.

Cubillas, an avid hunter and tenant of the San- place that fit the rabbit, became a quick trap for tander nobleman from Puente de San Miguel, the dog. His master lifted the rocks trapping it don Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola . went out on a and at that moment . the dank darkness of a hole hunting foray. His equipment consisted of a dou- blowing cool air unto the sweaty face of the hun- ble-barreled shotgun, cleated boots, -ame bag ter is suddenly uncovered. By sheer coincidence, and of course his dog, every good hunter's requi- as is often the case, our man discovered what red companion . Dog and master were foraging later became the most famous of all prehistoric around in the fields Glose to the Santander : the Altamira Cave. village of Santillana del Mar. Their carefree steps were abruptly cut short because all of a Modesto Cubillas was well aware of don Mar- sudden a jackrabbit ran through open ground and celino's hobbies and knew that besides being a scurried away in terror to hide its fuzzy body nobleman and landowner, he was also an accom- among the cracks between some rocks piled up at plished researcher in the quest for the rernote past the base of a giant rock face. Hot on his tracks of mankind . and very up to date on work of this goes the dog in pursuit, but what was a hiding kind that was being done in . Therefore, 33 PRI.t11STORIC CAVE ART

Fig. 4.- Altamira Cave. Painting representing a hind. Fig. 4.- Cueva de Altamira. Pintura representando una cirrva.

upan his return that tiresome morning. Cubillas tion when he wrote: Prndded bv mv p ission for informed Sanz de Sautuola of the existence of the studv of this klnd and ver-N- much excited bv the cave. The latter put it down in his notebook, pro- large collections of p^chistoric objects 1 had the mising to examine it at first chance. This turned pleasure of viewing mam• times during the Uni- out to take a while. for it did not actually happen t'e r.sal Exposition of 1

little child who brought happiness into his mid- life for he was born in 1831.

Once inside the cave, don Marcelino stopped at the entrance to recall the excavation started upon the first visit four years earlier. The little girl went browsing around this room with walls flickering by the fluttering candlelight of a flame wavering in the air currents, and looking at the wall outcroppings up and down, going up to the low ceiling, at that time fairly close to the floor due to accumulated deposits of sand on the bot- tom.

María's eyes detect masses of red color and the disquieting movement of the figures (fig. 3). Gasping, anxious and gripped with fear, she calls out to her father with a cry filled with terror. He then beholds something that he cannot believe is real. A thousand ideas come into his mind at once, confusing him. Gradually he was overcome by amazement, rejecting and accepting, but more than anything, he was filled with shudders of Fig. 5.- Portrait of Count de la Vega del Sella. emotion. A year later, in 1880, he published an Fig. 5.- El conde de la Vega del Sella. article under the title Brief Notes on Some Prehistoric Objects in the Province of'Santander, suspect at the time that they would become so where he also revealed the astonishing reality of united by the skepticism and stuffiness of official Prehistoric wall Art. Although he allows some science that was so enamored of the prestige and doubts to show through in some passages of his awards blinding it. The only defender of Sau- work, he puts them to rest with resounding posi- tuola's truth was his professor friend Vilanova. tive affirmations establishing relationships be- But neither Sautola's deserved fame earned in tween mobiliary and wall art. the field of research, nor his enthusiasm, precise intuition and critical cense, were able to over- This was all taken as a joke even by the most come the stubbornness of these great vise men kindly of critics, and the least kindly of them who with a persistence worthy of a higher cause, even took to speculating that the paintings were mocked this researcher from Santander or accu- the work of a French artist who would spend the sed him of being a fraud. summer at don Marcelino's farm, and that the two of them had worked out the fraud. This excitement about Altamira became an international tempest, with black clouds hanging For some time now, Sanz de Sautuola had and whirling aboye the heads of Sautuola and maintained a friendly relationship with don Juan Vilanova. In 1880, the Congress of Prehistoric de Vilanova. a Madrid professor and author of a Anthropology and Archeology was held in Lis- book titled The Origins of Mankind, which had bon. Though the conclusions on the wall art of impressed don Marcelino. Little did these two Altamira, which was all that was known at the 35 PREHISTORIC CAVE ART

time, ashamed Sautuola, the spark of doubt took culpa d'un sceptique, published in 1902 in hold on some of those attending the Congress. So L'Anthropologie magazine. With this he began a therefore, in 1881, the French paleontologist new era in search of clarity through well-inten- Harlé visited Altamira with a commission to tioned dialogue and exchange of ideas. make a report on the paintings. This report, in light of the current level of prehistoric research, But neither Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola nor also turned out to be quite picturesque and scien- his co-worker and friend Juan de Vilanova were tifically worthless: for he not only considered able to enjoy, at least not in this unpredictable them to be contemporary, but that were made world, the glory of having their truth recognized. during the period between Sautuola's two visits: Sautuola and Vilanova passed on with the hitter 1875 and 1879. sadness of being misunderstood. and their frus- tration over the truth of Altamira. Sautuola died E. Cartailhac, at that time a professor of in 1888 and Vilanova, in 1893. Prehistory at Toulouse. and with a great reputa- tion in this very new science. was also emphatic This necessarily brief background would be in denying the authenticity of the paintings as a gravely amiss without mentioning the narre of prehistoric work. This was a very curious denial Ricardo, Duque de Estrada, Count de la Vega del indeed, for he had not yet even leen them. Morti- Sella, a title he made famous by signing it on his Ilet, another sort of patriarch of studies in Prehis- scientific works. He was born in Pamplona on tory. also embraced this position, decreeing that January, 1870 but he was an Asturian by paren- the Altamira paintings be forgotten and calling tage and because he considered himself so. His them trickery, whether intencional or not, because elementary education was in France and his according to the mentality of the times, with the secondary in San Sebastián, but at the age of eigh- impressionists already around and about. primi- teen he inherited the title, and those symbiotic ties tive man could not paint like that. with such a of geography and nobility brought him to our rather mediocre air of ntodernittiv (fig. 4). region where he lived the Test of his life (fig. 5).

It would be unfair to throw all che blarne for He studied Law. at the University of Oviedo. this denial onto French criticism. The list of Spa- which he never practiced, finishing his degree in nish doubters was long and swollen. but the largo 1892. From then en, his palace at Nueva in Lla- amount of mobiliary art objects that were being nos was turned into headquarters where among found in many European caves was defining a other less consuming activities, plans were to be wider and wider group with engravings and made, results collected and were the scene of the reliefs of a stylized nature. hato which the great vocational effort of his life: the study of expressive formulas of Altamira wall art could Prehistory. Though he was not lacking in honors be fitted. Such well qualified scientists as Piette, and titles, for he also held those of Grand Master Riviére and even Cartailhac himself, although of Granada and Gentleman of the Chamber of timidly, began to offer favorable opinions on the Alfonso XIII (with exercise and privileges) his authenticity of the Altamira paintings. great work. his life's work, that work which made his very Asturian titie known throughout The truth of Altamira is finally corroborated the European scientific world. and made it sur- by discoveries of wall Art in France that were vive until our time together with his narre, was ¡nade from 1895 on. La Mouthe; Font-de- his career as a prehistoria¡, crowned by notable Gaume: , etc., motivated Emile discoveries and studies whose contributions are 36 Cartailhac to nobly put forth his famous Mea still valid. For such reason he also held further BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION

cial Cave, appears in 1914 after years as a novice prehistorian, and the last in 1935. In sorne of these publications his name appears together with narres of prestigious figures such as Hugo Obermaier, Hernández Pacheco and Cabré.

But even though his contributions and studies were of vital importance for the knowledge of the Paleolithic cultures in the Cantabrian area, the discovery and study of a post-paleolithic or pre-neolithic stage which he himself baptised as Asturian, since it mainly developed in the Astu- rian region, gave an even higher profile to his outstanding personality as a celebrity (fig. 6).

So let these modest lines written with admi- ring enthusiasm and emotion serve as an homage, in an attempt to convey imperfectly to the reader these same feelings which so perfectly and honestly are deserved by the eminent figure of the Asturian prehistorian, Ricardo Duque de Estrada, Count de la Vega del Sella.

Fig. 6.- Asturian cutting tools. Fig. 6.- Picos asturienses. appointments that were granted to him in recog- The title of a book should reflect its contents, nition of his merits: Honorary Professor of the and on this occasion, as we said from the start, it National Museum of Natural Sciences; Chairman is about Art that was developed by Mankind in of the Spanish Society of Anthropology, Ethno- the Asturian region from Prehistorv, with an exa- logy and Prehistory, and Member of the Com- inination of those that time has preserved. How- mission for Paleontological and Prehistoric ever, I feel it is necessarv ,for this tasé to also Research. include an introductor_v context to present some verv general f icts to the reader° on the slow and As a child and youth he surely must have difficult developinent of that yace and the envi- been moved by the sad events of Altamira, living ronment in which it lived, so that based opon through them as he did, on both sides of the bor- such premises, we mav bring roto sharper focus der. Therefore, scientific method and seriousness the conquest qf that artistic glory, which is defi- were the role in his work. nitely the thread that is best in holding together our lineage. The list of deposits discovered by Count de la Vega del Sella in his ongoing search, mainly in So even if brevity inust be sacrificed, for bre- rural areas of , would make these notes vity is a practice that no doubt can leave sonie- too long. as it also would be to list ali his exem- thing rnissing, 1 shall go ahead with this intro- plary publications, the first title of which, Peni- ductorv text. 37 CHAPTER I

OF PREHISTORIC MAN AND HIS ENVIRONMENT INTRODUCTORY BACKGROUND

The chronology of the Prehis- become very popular though it less, it is the safest of all. 1 am tory of mankind seems to be loa- does not provide perfectly accu- referring to radioactive testing ded with suppositions and la- rate data in its results. Nonethe- by Carbon 14. Its relative dating cking in precise knowledge in the study of its most remote stages.

The chronological range on the SIGNOS CONVENCJONM- S time when emerging mankind aw.*y.. Llnrih á.WiAv/ t&rw[rtr. 6/.rLon^ á wdF cM ,%c ádvN o++- manifests itself as such through its works in stone is quite elastic, ! - 6Mc.* oF D.vi. J • Wir/r le L/.r^oaJ. with differences of milleniums. 4-6/.c^.vaGOj.. S • 6/st*# oF BulneJ. These differences are accepted or q T Mrvrncr d..rin.nwpuryL.cb^-. rejected with no unanimous .a.•^^s Depes/. i nwrrrniW. agreement. and shades of agree- ment and disagreement accor- ding to the degree of attractive- ness of hypotheses. They may be based upon the authenticity of some findings. but in most ins- tances these are not explicit due to their isolated nature, or the fact that they may lead to various different conclusions. Thus, to study these bygone stages of Prehistory, a warp must be woven from methodical observations and use of the sciences of geology, statistics, paleontology, etc., etc., combi- ned with an inseparable dose of sensitivity and imagination which for now, are mandatory. It is something else again when talking about more recent stages. whose secrets are being rounded up gradually. thanks to progress in research tools provi- 1 2 % L S lo *~ ding obviously successful physi- cal and chemical testing me- thods. One of these, widely used Fig. 7.- Glacial remains in the Peaks of Europe. in the past thirty years. has Fig. 7.- Vestigios glaciares en los Picos de Europa. 39 PREHISTORIC CAVE ART

Fig. 8.- Peales ol Europe. Val lec caned out bv a glacier in its time. \shich nos; cenes as che channel of che Du.je Riv'er. Fig. 8.- Picos de Europa. Valle formado en su tiempo por un glaciar y actualmente lecho del río Duje.

rango goes back no farther than kind: hecause 500 million years ernergence of che first inverte- 60,000 years. The Potassium- suppose a precedent of some brates. Followino, naturally, is Argon association may be able four hundred ninety million the so-called Secondary or to offer some approximate years for this process of deve- Mesozoic age spanning some dating of substances and objects lopment to have started. one hundred fifty million years from more than half a million We will lighten the tremen- and finally. the Terciary or years ago hack in time. dous burden of this enormous Cenozoic age with some eighty mass of time with very brief million years. give or cake a few. overatl classifications to make it which has a short branch of only The Remote Past easier to handle. Therefore. with four million years in che honor the hele of Geology it has of mankind. Man malees his The idea that lile appeared on becomc possible to determine appearance as such on the begin- earth some five hundred million some oí' che ages of che Earth, ning oí' his road to improvement. years ago. though in very rudi- which are defincd as follows: che It was roan hiniself who set it nmentary forros, justifies by that Primary or Paleozoic which las- apart as a separate unit and long genesis itself, the relative ted sorne two hundred seventy called it the Quaternary age. perfection and more than any- million years. This first period. The final periods of che Ter- 40 Ihing the great potencial of man- the Canibrian. also saw che ciary age. che Miocene and Plio- CHAPTER 1. OF PREHISTORIC MAN AND HIS ENVIRONMENT

Fig. 9.- Another aspect of Fig. 8 á ith remains of glacial moraine. Fig. 9.- Otro aspecto de la figura anterior con restos de morrena glaciar. cene, are getting ready with the He decrees development of his the current period in which we appearance of very complete intellect through this change of are living, starting between the forros of ]¡fe to push mankind position by giving the head an years 10,000 and 8,000 B.C. out into the world of life. These advantageous place at the high- This first phase of the Quater- are the primates that have alrea- est point of the vertical, and full nary, the Pleistocene. includes dy evolved to more or less use of the upper extrernities in some different climatic changes humanoid forro. perhaps more as the many tasks suggested by with glaciar and interglaciar a presage than a reality. We give evolution. Thus was born Homo periods for which we use termi- them narres to emphasize certain erecHcs. nology based upon studies made milestones -Australopithecus, The primates and their in the Alps, using the narres of Homo habilis- which would variants that evolved through the Tour rivers there: Gunz, Mindel. have been a very modest evolu- Pliocene are then the firststeps Riss and Würm. though there is tionary line with imperceptible in this ladder of arduous ascent speculation about two other pre- changes from one generation lo lo the human prototype. liminary unes. Biber and Danube the next. But at that moment We have also divided the (fig. 7). when the Supreme Creator deci- Quaternary into two portions of Man arrives in the harsh envi- des that this being can now stand time: the Pleistocene, which is ronment of his land as a true up on its two lower extremities, the lon^gest. and the Holocene, or exile from Paradisc. However. 41 PREHISTORIC CAVE ART

his physical weakness for dea- whole range of materials used. of Paleolithic man is so com- lin- with the tough tests of his including the products of the plete, that even today we keep mettle will he compensated for potter's work. returning to more encounters and by the creativo powers of his The Paleolithic. then, which re-encounters with Art of all intellect, enahling hico to survive has a modest evolution (fig. 10). times. The examples left by (figs. 8 & 9). is proportionally similar to the those men are still truly astoni- evolution of life toward more shing to us.

The Paleolithic Age

Paleolithic: this is the name we give to the first stage with vestiges of crafts made by the hand of man. Paleolithic: of ancient stone: of stone which in some way was made useful by man to serve himself. We also include any other activity he might have carried out within this sarne overall classification. Ancient stone: the Paleolithic period: he sculpts on hard stones of flint, quartz and ophite. From rudimentarv working of clean

pebbles. sometimes of douhtful Fig. 10.- Acheulian hand-axe. origin, he gocs all the way up to Fig. 10.- Hacha de piano achelense. the great perfection of the final Paleolithic stage, full of beauty improved forms, including the There are two paleolithic pha- and effectiveness. evolution of man himself. From ses or stages defined. called Despite the fact that Prehisto- the pebhle culture to the so- Lower Paleolithic and Upper ric man becomes known to us called hand-crxe, the former on Paleolithic, although the terco personified simply as Stone Age the road to mankind and the lat- Middle Paleolithic is also used. Man, he made use of a whole ter fully human. sorne two The lower, which is considered range of materials from the very million years may have passed. to be from the beginnings of that earliest times. This qualifier is Some say up to five: and from doubtful manufacture in stone bv so attractive that we have labe- the hand-axe to varied forms oí' the hand of man, is the next led the next period by the mune utensils (fig. 1 1 ). some 500.000. 500.000 years: the Middle Paleo- Neolithic: of new stone, or of after which will come a staáe of lithic, the next 50,000 years after polished stone. Though there is 50,000 years full of performance that. and from there on we are in no douht that he keeps on using and quick ascent in a formidable the . stone, giving it new qualities of escalation of technology leading But as always. such a defini- functionality and beauty, it is to the conquest oí' more efficient tion between one stage and ano- also no less true that stone. wi- instruments of survival and to ther is never fully in agreement thout completely losing its prin- one of the niost valuable means with reality. Tomorrow this sup- 42 cipal role. becomes just one of a oí' communication: Art. This art position mav change. given the CHAPTER 1. OF PREHISTORIC MAN AND HIS ENVIRONMENT

Fig. 11.- Man using the "hand axe" to break sharp splinters off a pone. Fig. 11.- Hombre utilizando el »»hacha de mano» para arrancar de un hueso esquirlas aguzadas. dynamics of the field of observa- Horno erectus, the inissing link see the first human crafts: the tions on remote Prehistory as 1 found in Java by the Dutch phy- hand-axe (fig. 12), with many have already mentioned, as new sician Dubois and finally labe- examples from many different discoveries worthy of considera- lled by the name of Pithecan- places, allowing us to see the tion come into view. thropus, a narne also applied to stages of improvement attained, This significant step of the the findings in Peking and to and meaningful evidence at the so-called pebble culture took later findings in Java by Profe- end of the Acheulean. sorne two million years of effort; ssor Von Koenigswal, the new The Acheulean culture, with so immature and crude that there ones in , etc..... thus its brief, almost Parisian prelude are many doubtful examples making up the great farnily of of the Chellean, later rebaptized causing conjecture as to whether Homo erectus. Since then, a as the Abbeville era, will have a or not they were a product of a million and a half years of evo- cultural parallel in the technique brain on the road of evolution or lutionary adventures have gone of the flakes made by the Taya- to the crafts of Horno hahilis and by, from which we may clearly cian and Levalloisian, the latter 43 I'RFHISTORICCAVE ART

by preparing the core with facets resulting in regularly shaped fla- kes. With trimming on the edges. these provide scrapers and trian- gle tips. We can see how man is wor- king hard to find ways of adap- ting himself to the world. to this Creation finto which he comes with great disadvantage. He is without natural defenses , but ^ dwelling within him is the- hopo ful will oí' survival and domi .4 r 1,1111(1p 11 we continue in pursult ot man's evolution. we will now come to the appearance of Homo Sí¡ 11en S 1'117EJ11S) Come / t ?, Fig. 12.- Fui¡;- devcloped Upper Acheulian hand ase. one hundred thousand or more Fig. 12.- «Hacha de mano' del Achelense superior evolucionada. years ago, in a climate that is lit times temperate around the interglaciation of the Riss and Würm. This race known as the belongs to the Homo Sapiens primigenios, because the roof of a skull sho- wing evident evolutionary pro- rgress was found in 1856 in a cave in the valley oí' this narre between Dusseldorf and Elber- feld. However, this one had traits of inferiority when compa- red to the human type that would make its appearance some fifty thousand ycars later. Homo Sapiens sapiens -Homo sapientisimus. I vvould cal¡ him- who went down in thc history of Prehistory under the narre of Cro- Ma>non man. with wnicn Me Neanderthal becanle Fifl. 13.- Cave of Lazaret . Reconstruction of the supposcd structure of the cabin. an lllterllledlate link in Che chata Fia 13.-Cueva de Laiaret. Reconstitución de la estructura de la cabaña. linking the Pithecanthropus and the Cro-Magnon. The Neander- been the Man because findings. much more complete 44 tllal Man should Nave actually elght vears before the German remains ere found at Gibraltar: CHAPTER 1. OF PREHISTOREC \IAN AND HIS ENVIRON\EENT

Fig. 14.- Lazaret Cave. Reconstruction of the cabin. Fig. 14.- Cueva de Lazaret. Reconstitución de la cabaña.

however at the time they were The Mousterian crafts belong not properly identified. to the , having Since the Neanderthal bone received this name from the fragment, findings of this kind remains found at the site of Le have been numerous and have Moustier in Dordogne. served to determine the very At this point, it would be wide area of occupation achie- good to review the knowledge ved by this race: Europe, Ocea- that Neanderthal Man had. nia. Near Asia and East Central because the image of these and Southeast Africa. ancestors of prehistory com- monly portrays them as beings having a very rudimentary brain: protruding bettle browed. so Fig. 15.- Acheulian bifacial stone from Bañu- hairy that they are indistinguish- gues (Gozón). Fig. 15.- Bifaz achelense de Bañugucs able from their clothing made of (Gozón). poorly sewn furs: knock-need, 45 PREHISTORIC CAVE ART

Fig. 16.- Limestone folds in the mountains . a favorable place for the formation of grottos and caverns. Fig. 16.- Relieves calizos de montaña. propicios para la forinación de dolinas y simas. with a loping walk and a ten- dency to stretch out their hands looking for a way to brace them- selves on the ground with their hands. Of course, the reason is that for our egocentric mind of men who are^about to embark upon the 21 st Century, any man who is not historie does not seem to be a part of our ancestry. Nonetheless, Prehisto- ric man already has a capacity that never stops producing great surprises as we go deeper into his knowledge, even at that beginning stage toward the more complete formulas of the Upper

Paleolithic. We judge our histo- Fig. 17.-Gallery of the Tito Bustillo Cave ( ). 46 rical progress starting from Fig.17.-Galería delaeueva «"ritoBustillo »(Ribadesella). CHAPTER 1. OF PREHISTORIC MAN AND HIS ENVIRONMENT

Fig. 18.- Lirnestone formations in the Peaks of Europe. Fig. 18.- Agrupaciones calizas en los Picos de Europa. scratch until we arrive at that the discovery of atomic energy. used lance or dart tips and knew magnificent chapter where we And what can we say of the how to prepare skins. Naturally are able to split the atom and wheel? Even though its inven- they were nomadic. following walk upon the Moon. and in this tion comes later. it existed way game as they did thousands of prideful thinking it is forgotten back in the early times of Huma- years hefore and thousands after, that our current progress and nity and yet man is still not for game was one of their main intellectual development have a able to replace it. sources of food. Although it may million year track record behind The Neanderthals knew how be supposed that these men prac- them. Moreover, it has a hundred to make fire and were in control ticed cannihalism, it is also sup- thousand year record which even of it. Their crafts improve in posed that they did so in obser- then did not start from scratch, comparison to earlier Acheulean vance of magical beliefs, to be because there was a lengthy pre- work. though at first they follow able to assume the qualities of lude in which the tiny spark of in part sorne of its traditional the deceased, as is still practiced intellect struggled to effectively features . They use wood and by some primitive tribes. create the donrinator. The disco- sharpened pieces of bone; they The Riss/Würm interglacia- very of the nature of fire and produce small bifacial stones tion with its temperate climate. means of producing and control- which may be derived from the first allows man to set up his ling it. can he imagined a pro- hand-axe, and other pieces with camps in the open, building huts gress as significant in its time as a serrated edge. They may have as largo as 550 sq. ft. on occa- 47 PREHISTO RIC CAVE ART

sion. However. he prefers to take a group with Mousterian crafts advantage of the shelter of typical oí' the Levalloisian. On caverns where these are availa- the other side oí' the Rhone live ble. the Charentians of the Quina Nonetheless, within the ove- type. who dominated the ca- rall uniformity of Mousterian nyons of the Gardon. crafts, there are certain indica- The intent of the confusing tions that a range of types is paragraphs aboye on the diver- startinl_* to become defined. This sity of anthropological remains also eniphasizes the cultural and oí' roan's own works, is to diversity of mankind in the lead to the idea that these groups human groups that created them. are evolving as their disappea- Due to the fact that they live in rance draws closer. This disap- isolated clans, though contempo- pearance inevitably will come rary and neighboring. the_v pro- about, for such is human evolu- vide a diversity that in some tion. with the advent of another cases could cause theni to be race or races who in the best of considered to belong to a more cases, will ahsorb them bv advanced anthropological group. mixin-* with them. and who will The hone findings at Ehringsdor, contribute new and of course Saccopastore and Ganorce more efficient techniques from whose Neanderthal traits are not the Upper Paleolithic. apparent. and the skull at Sten- It is exciting to see how hid- heim found in 1933 near Stutt- den forces are instinctively pu- gart with a clear tendency shing Neanderthal groups to pro- toward more modera forros, can gress. in their effort to resist the support Chis supposition that is supposed invasion of new kinds additionally supported by the of domination as yet unknown. jaw discovered at Montmaurin hut nonetheless expected as ine- (France) associated with Mous- vitable change. This competitive terian crafts. behavior is still alive in Huma- Professor F. Bordes had alrea- nity. The conquest of space dy pointed out this diversity in encourages manv of man's Mousterian crafts and a few current efforts, such as the crea- years ago. Professor Henry de tion of new armaments as a coer- Lumley^discovered other diffe- cive force to extend economlc 19.- Folded limestone along the eastern rent types on the French Medite- dominante, or technological pro- coast of Asturias. rranean coast. gress in industry to allow con- Fig. 19.- Relieves calizos en la costa oriental The Charente group of Eas- quest of other niarkets. asturiana. tern Ferrassie type was establi- As 1 have said, in these evo- shed in Luberon and in the ca- lutionary competitive efforts of the douht railes up again as co nyons of Verdum. During the the Mousterians. there are whether the change of race is a same era, the mountains of Vau- groups showing intermédiate Irgradual process through- peaceful cluse and the region of the ca- stages of transit to the Upper intrusion, or if on the contrary. it 48 nyons of Nesque are occupied by Paleolithic. and it is here where is by sudden invasion. CHAPTER 1. OF PRI :HISTORIC MAN :\1D HIS I:\VIRON\IENT

The Mousterian culture of the Chatelperronian, which is the look at this aspect of the Mous- inhabitants of Provence shows entrance to the Upper Paleolithic terian cultures as the result of great technical progress that culture: but we believe it was the achievements of isolated makes us wonder if they had only local evolution of the same groups who were finally defea- already made steps toward the thing. It is more attractive to ted by better armed peoples. 49 PREHISTORIC CAVE ART

Mousterian is still found in the Baurne-Bonne region which could be contemporary to the ancient Aurignacian or Chatel- perronian. and the group living there finished out its days com- pletely in the Upper Paleolithic, perhaps unknown by new peo- ples or forgotten in its canyons and highlands. Forty thousand years of Mousterian culture: forty thou- sand years of a genuine human culture, an extremely significant springboard for the takeoff of a rapid progression that made pos- sible the plenitude of the Upper Paleolithic. Fig. 20.- Mousterian tip and scraper from the Forno or Conde Cave. But as 1 was saying before, Fig. 20.- Punta c raedera musterienses de la cueva del Forno. we mark history with very arbi- trary milestones, and the evolu- Neanderthal population. In some rectangular area. The fenced tion oí' Humanity does not cases, levels from the Mindel area was ostensibly parallel to actually follow these sudden road glaciation have been reached. one of the walls of the cave, and signs. Cultural evolution was Professor Henry de Lumley's the accumulation of materiales accomplished along a smoothly excavations included two major inside it showed that it might curved line full of tiny ups and deposits: one at Caune-de- belong to a room made by the downs that invisible at a glance. L'Argo in the Departarnent of hand of man. but that gradually. continued the Eastern Pyrenees and the Therefore. a search was for building the progress of Huma- other at Lazaret Cave at the holes in the floor to confirm nity. However, since our know- entrance to Nice. In these exca- anchoring of posts for a structure ledge is scarce. we have no vations there are levels that go that could have served for hang- choice but to define very broad all the way back to the start of ing hides on it. There were no stages or periods. specially in the Riss glaciation and up lo results: however. seven small these remote times of Prehistory. Mindel/Riss. circles made with stones were And if this were not enough, Lazaret cave held great sur- found, arranged in such a way as now and then new discoveries prises for Professor H. Lum]ey. to provide such anchoring. With are made to further complicate The entrance is some eighty feet this. and due to the need to place the chronological pattern. Thus, aboye sea leve]. Besides an other horizontal beams for a sup- in 1967. a group of very specta- accumulation oí' pebbles at the posed cover. Professor Lum]ey cular findings were made in entrance at the floor leve] of the searched diligently for possible France between Provence and cave that may have belonged to signs of support along the wall Rousellon. taking us one hun- the Mindel/Riss shore, inside it of stone, and although such sup- dred twenty to two hundred but close to the entrance. in sedi- ports were not found as an artifi- thousand years back in time to tnents from the end of Riss, was cial work, they were found as a 50 the Riss Glaciation with pre- found a stone fence enclosing a natural shelf along the wall, pro- CHAPTER 1. OF PREHISTORIC MAN AND HIS ENVIRONMENT

Fig. 21.- Schematie map of Europe, showing Quaternary glaciations. Fig. 21.- Mapa esquemático de Europa, señalando las glaciaciones cuaternarias. bably from erosion caused by In the Tito Bustillo cave at because the period of time be- the flow of water. which allowed Ribadesella, in a small boring tween the Lazaret and Ribadese- for support of one of the ends of made toward the area of access lla evidente is some seventy the cover beams, with the other used by primitive man, we have thousand years. end supported on the opposite confirmed evidence of four holes Professor Lumley's observa- post set up vertically in the about four and one half inches in tions on the findings made do ground (fig. 13). The height of diarneter with a depth of sixteen not stop here, and this is all so the shelf and the height calcula- inches. It is possible that these attractive that despite the fact ted for the vertical posts allowed holes could have also been used that these quotes the Lower and the supossition that the cover for anchoring wooden posts. The Middle Paleolithic must be no was sloped to permit runoff of construction of hide huts within more than a brief introductory water from filtrations during the cave room was frequent and prelude to the main subject of times of heavy rains (fig. 14). a product of a long tradition. this book. which is the Upper 51 PRE:HISTORIC CAVI ::\RT

Paleolithic and its Great budding of Art. 1 cannot resist the impulse to mention them. Inside this supposed cahin were found the remains of fire that had been built directly on the (loor and were not used as cooking fires, hut instead were for the^function of providing a certain amount of heat within the enclosure. Numerous very tiny sea shells from one to four milli- meters in diameter were also found within the enclosure of the cabin, a circumstance thal led to Fig. 22.- C'ommon fallou leer. quite plentiful in the Quaternary era. the supposition that these shell- Fig. 22.- Gamo común, muy abundante en la etapa Cuaternaria. fish had not been picked up as food. Their habitat were among hides or prepare firewood. or sites, with findings of stones seaweed and presumably they chip away at a piece of flint. and with prepared edges. had been ,athered by man along the chief of the clan cuts up a In Asturias, it seems that the the beach^who took them to his shank of reindeer meat into well oldest crafts are the Acheulian, dwelling to use them as stuffing calculated portions for the last. especially the upper Acheulian, for his hed. and perhaps also the first, meal and Mousterian with an Acheu- The qualities of observation. of the day. Outside. the gelid lian tradition. The only evidence imagination and sensitivity once night would make this elemental is from the Riss and Würm gla- again were put finto the services dwelliná and heart seem even ciations with the disappearance of prehistoric research, along more eomfortable. of the rest being credited to with the attention to detail and These new discoveries distur- interglaciar or postglaciar ero- tests offered by modera scientific bed evolutionary issues on sion (fig 15). means. to opera up new horizons human type and cultures, sho- The climatic condition of the in this remote past of more than wing the reality of these inter- Glaciar periods which were very one hundred thousand year ago. mediate shadings between one cold, give rise to the supposition Using our capahilities of inia- label and another. that inhabited areas would be Gination, we of course become We cannot yet fully leave the along the coast or in the shelter excited from having had the stages of the Middle Paleolithic of low. protected valleys. Man's opportunity to enter a dwelling without noting what happens on penetration finto the anea of Astu- of those remote ancestors, after the Iberian Peninsula and thus. rias comes from Southern France. feeling the punishment of the fri- of course, what happens in the This together with come special Gid conditions outside in our region of Asturias . We could geological conditions, favors lar- stiff bodies. to spend pleasant say that it is nothing special Ger population toward the eastern hours around the heat of a glow- compared to the rest of inhabited parí of the region. which lasts ing ¡¡re under thc evidently com- Europe. In the Iberian Peninsula into the Upper Paleolithic. tortable shelter of a hut of hides, thc first sigas of human culture The fertile magic of the while its regular inhabitants. correspond to thc first that are caverns mostly arose from 52 scattered around inside. sew discovered in other European hollows. These provide the CHAPTER 1. OF PREHISTORIC MAN AND HIS ENVIRONMENT

dent changed their course on land, others because the blazing sun prevailed and they dried up, and others because they changed course in their meanderings and opened up a new gallery. So that is how this cuyern labyrinth became hollowed out, and some of its meanderings still show faint signs of their liquid crea- tors (fig. 17). So limestone prevails from the Deva-Cares to the Nalón, and one of its peculiarities is that

Fig. 23.- Asturcon horse, a type that is often round depicted on prehistoric art walls. it encourages the formation of Fig. 23.- Caballo Asturcón. cuyo tipo es muy representado en el arte prehistórico. those hollow underground chan- nels than men used and made into the center of his lifestyle: the cave (figs. 18 & 19). For this reason, our central and eastern areas hosted many prehistoric generations. The caves are a fan- tastic world full of surprises, with unknown roads and a virgin atmosphere, and a whole artistic panorama of sculpture and color born of the unsurpassed symbio- sis of water and minerals provi- ded by Nature. They not only provided man with the generous refuge of their hollows, but also

Fig. 24.- Brown hear. sorne of w hich still survive in Asturias forests. a whole exciting panorama that Fig. 24.- Oso pardo, del que aún superviven ejemplares en los bosques asturianos. encouraged him to select it as the proper place for showing the landscape, rich in limestone with ground through cracks until they expression of his spiritual desi- some special features, which are open up a channel through which res. shown in small, more or less cir- they can now flow unhindered, However, in Asturias we do cular valleys (fig. 16) that act tracing mazes of routes by case not have any evidence of human somewhat akin to a funnel, of passage, or leaping down jato occupation in caves until after attracting surface water runoff deep abysses in search for an the middle of the Würm glacia- finto them. Sornetimes due to exit which will enable them to tion. Earlier Acheulian evidence slow, erosive filtration and spring forth once again jato the would belong to open air camps, others due to the settling of these sunlight. But some of these taking advantages of more tem- hollows, what happens is that underground water explorers perate periods of the Riss/Wiirm. these waters seep down into the went dry: some because an acci- The areas of niost ancicnt human 53 PREHISTORIC CAVE ART

cave dwelling at least up to now. are those found at the Forno or Conde Cave in Tuñón (Sto. Adriano) where Mousterian crafts were found (fig. 20). in the Arnero cave (Posada de LLanes) and at La Cuevona (Ribadesella). If we make a summary of the progress of Lower and Middle Paleolithic man, we can see that after his slow and painful evolu- tionary climb at the end of these hundreds of thousands of years. Chis man is in possession of knowledge that more than com- pensates for bis physical disad- vantages within the created c.Y world. Utensils have been enri- ched by the invention of forms Fig. 2-5.- :a uhamois. plentiful in ihe Cantahrian Range. that wcrc I1nuch mole functional, Fig, 15,- r1-1l'Inplar d1 rcheCo Abunda en la Cordillera Cantábrica. lighter and sharper at the time of their use. at that time, who were no more other occasions it seems that a Their dwellings nave features than Homo-Sapiens, had reli- belief that the dead are able to making them to some degree gious awareness: but we can return to hinder the activities of confortable, more resistant to affirm that man practiced certain the living or to go after them is water and eold, with the adoption rites related to something he felt shown, which is suggested by of a cubicle covered with hides was supernatural; to hidden (or- the fact that bodies are buried under the protection of the solid ces that scatter through the envi- tied up or with enormous boul- rock oí' a cave: he knows how to ronment, coming from this ders placed on their head, or light and use Eire. etc.. etc. something that cannot be defined buried with the head to the bot- But there is an untouched as a part of his physical world tom, so in case the dead person issue that causes us to wonder. and may be either evil or áood. tried to move. his road would go Do these mea now feel any con- This admirable facet of man- straight finto the bowels of the cern about their later destine kind which shows with still earth and not toward the surface. after the difficult life they are stronger evidente the great This makes us suspect that a living? Do their thoughts stop to harrier separating hico from the belief in a possible afterlife ponder any sort of higher force rest of the animal kingdom, is would have heen included governing the forces of the earth shown in his burial of the dead. among the spiritual concerns of upon which they are dwelling? The burials at Ferrassie. La these mea of the Middle Paleo- Do their prayers or entreaties in Quina. La Chapelle-aux-Saints lithic Age, whose remains show any way ask for protection and at show us us the acople spread of this race against the dangers around them'? the special care used in these that. from what is known, lived With the status of our current tasks with evident ceremonial on the three continente of the knowledge, it is not possihle l'or signs. Sometimes it is a burial Old World with truly astounding 54 us to he a^stn-ed that those amen ground laid out with stones: on cultural uniformity.

1 CHAPTER II

THE MORE RECENT TIMES OF THE PALEOLITHIC AGE ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURAL EXPANSION

Leaving behind that long that point, leaving them wanting The first manifestations of the stage of millions of years. we in a world with new demands. Upper Paleolithic seem to belong now come into the Upper Paleo- Or perhaps they mixed with new to the Near East and Eastern lithic. which in time is defined anthropologically different Europe, with gradual spread to as some forty thousand plus groups, thus giving birth to the Western Europe. Their cultural years. Cro-Magnon type as a result of forros were unknown in many More than once we have the mutation that carne about. parís of the world and, as always asked whether the Neanderthal Al] this caused an extraordinary with reasonable suppositions, this race dissappeared by being and decisive cultural change; so new budding occurs in Southeast wiped out by a new one coming extraordinary and decisive that it Asia, spilling out toward Europe in; or by stagnation and degene- opens up a brand new chapter in and North Africa. In the rest of ration of those qualities that had the great book of Humanity. We the wide world. including Asia made its survival possible up to do not know the reason why. and Africa below the Sahara, the old paleolithic forros remain in force. Earth has just begun the second Würm glacial cycle; these are the last spasms of Pleistocene ice. Life for Upper Ir { Paleolithic roan is fraught with dismal conditions. The land upon which mankind struggles for survival is cold and arid. In Europe, the ice cap will come down from the North going through the Scandinavian plains and down to , until it takes the Elbe line covering Polish territory and going east, taking in a large parí of Eurasia. This frozen mass covered the North Sea and went over almost all of Great Britain and Ireland. The Alps also had permanent ice cover, and were a huge frigid island. The Pyrenees chain also remained frozen, though its eri- tema and western ends were not

Fig. 26.- Wild cock which despite all odds, still survives in the forests of Asturias. fully covered by permanent ice Fig. 26.- El urogallo que todavía subsiste en los bosques de Asturias. (fig. 21). 55 PREHISTORIC CAVE ART

European landscape and cli- mate therefore experienced a significant transformation with these phenomena. These largo, frozen surfaces locking up enor- mous masses of water. caused sea leve] to go down over three hundred feet. Therefore, a rather large coastal area that is now under water was dry land at that time. Siberia or northern can show us an example of the climate situation of a large part of Europe back in those days. In Asturias it is calculated that snow was permanent aboye 3.300 feet aboye sea level. European man of the Upper Paleolithic has to live with this horrid cold. This land in which man struggles for survival is

cold and arid, and these men, Fig. 27.- Chatelperron or 1.o\;er Aurig nacian type tips. who already have a long past of Pi,_,. 27.- Puntas del tipo Chatelperron o Auriñaciense inferior. hundreds of thousands of vears, are gripped by frozen anguish. briefly describe. and which pos- whose bulky yet graceful sil- Therefore, living in caves is pre- sesses common features al¡ houette we see in the first stages ferred wherever possible. As we clon, the Cantabrian shelf, the of the Upper Paleolithic Age in have already pointed out, in south of France. part of and Europe during the times of Asturias, along the coast and other European regions, our extreme cold, is replaced by its rivers in canyons in the most Upper Paleolithic man is not the cousin the deer when the ice sheltered valleys. there are many only one around. There are also begins to creep away from its caves with sigas of human life in other beings, bis companions in grip on the land past the middle the central and eastern hall his voyage through this created of the Upper Paleolithic. The where there is an abundance of world. reindeer come back again during limestone. The mammoth and rhinoce- the last ice age before the Holo- In these arcas there are rous were common throughout cene, with^which we come forests mainly of evergreens, al- Europe. although they reprodu- around to our present climate thou—h solnetimes in sume nook ced more easily in the steppe and back to the deer again. But or cranny of this rough terrain country of Eastern Europe. Deer without a doubt, the reindeer there are to he found micro-cli- were abundant during times of was a good traveling companion mates with forests of deciduous more henign climate (fig. 22). for man; it is so involved with trees. Reindeer appear in the coldest his life, that we constantly see it In this landscape, whose arcas, and occupy an important mixed in with the vestiges of 56 adornment we have tried to place in man's life. The reindeer. that existence. It offered very CHAPTER II. THE MORE RECENT TIMES OF THE PALEOLITHIC AGE

tasty meat; hides with which to exactly in terms of their imme- wolf and the ¡ion, that we cover his body and the frame- diate use as one of the main sta- usually think of as belonging to work of his huts; strong tendons ples in his dieta rather the intelli- warm regions, when actually it for tying things firmly and lofty gent human perception of the was run off to those areas by racks with which to make not potential of the horse because of mankind. The capercaille (fig. only his weapons, but also beau- the strength of its muscles and 26) was one of the wel] known tiful symbolic and magical endurance and speed . The won- fowls and today it has largely objects. derful historie future of man's disappeared in Europe, though it But the horse was even more life together with the horse may still remains in some forested significant than the reindeer to have been foreseen by him, for areas in Asturias. In the rivers the survival of mankind due to such cooperation definitely there were species such as the the regularity of its presence at became depicted as a subject in salmon and in the sea. large fish all times, for it can live just as the imagined mythical versions among which there were some well in the forest as it can on the of historical cultures. identified within the mackerel plains, and due to the relative To complete the zoological family. abundance of the herds (fig. 23). panorama of Western Europe we Such was Europe of the It may be that horses were one have the bear (fig. 24), the bison, Upper Paleolithic era. The most of the dreams that obsessed the goat , the chamois (fig. 25). significant known core of human mankind the most, and not the au rochs. the arctic fox, the culture forty thousand years ago was concentrated there, even though the first manifestations of this new stage may have star- ted taking place in the Middle East, as mentioned aboye. Though Mousterian culture spread out evenly throughout a large part of the known world, new Paleolithic ways on the other hand, did not become manifested in very many places on Earth. At least, we are lac- king docuinents or those we do have are not properly dated. Its cultural spread was limited to Europe. North Africa and Asia Minor. So then the Upper Paleolithic could have been born in some yet unknown part of Southeast Asia, spreading out to Europe and North Africa, with the rest of Asia and Africa below the Sahara remaining unconnected

Fig. 28.- Gravette tips. to this evolution and faithful to Fig. 28.- Puntas gravettienses. the cultural forros of the Lower 57 PREHIS TORIC CAVE ART

3.

5.

A 11. 8. lo.

58 CHAPTER 11. THE MORE RECENT TIMES OF THE PALEOLITHIC AGE

and Middle Paleolithic. But even though the area of occupation is well defined insofar as utensils are concerned, it is not well defi- ned in Art, because the Asian area provides no wall art nor decorated objects that could be dated more than ten thousand years. Also, figures painted and engraved on rock that can be found in overwhelming amounts in Africa. are not attributable to prehistoric times contemporary with those of the Europeans, but rather to much more recent times. Even though material known from the Middle East is scarce. it is quite interesting: the cave of Zarzi, excavated by Miss Garrod, is in : Shainar Ksar Abil in : Jabrud in Syria: Kara In and Okuzlú In in , etc. But it is in Europe where the ereat wealth of the Upper Paleolithic was produced. Our historical European culture was preceded by a road already traveled in the prehistoric stage: a road that becomes marked from there on by the lame cha- racteristics of itinerary and deve- lopment . We cannot forget that the great historical Mediterra- nean culture starts from Miletus, Fig. 30.- Aurignacian split bono tips. Fig. 30.- Puntas de hueso hendidas auriñacienses,

Fig. 29.- Aurignacian tools. 1. 3, 3 & 4 are blades sith much edge retouching; 5 & 6 are which of course, has roots in ding out toward the West. and blades with hollows: 7. 8 & 9 are keel-shaped civilizations from the Middle finds a home and abundance in scrapers: lo is an engraving tool with trans- East and North Africa, and takes Western Europe. Therefore, the verse retouching: 11 is a center point engra- European areas where manifesta- ving tool. over all the western coasts on Fig. 29.- Utiles auriñacienses. 1, 2, 3 y 4 hojas the shores of Mare Nostrum. tions of the Upper Paleolithic are con fuertes retoques marginales: 5 y 6 con Thus, the Upper Paleolithic, concentrated, East and West, are escotaduras: 7. 8 y 9 raspadores aquillados: 10 whose birth occurs in the eastern different in their density. conti- buril non retoque transversal: 11 buril de punta cemrai. areas, also develops by sprea- nuity and in the culmination of 59 PRI:HISTOR [C CAVE ART

Fig. 31.- Collars from a prehistoric collection. Fig. 31.- Collares de ajuar prehistórico.

this culture, as if man in his migration liad found his best environment toward the West. The eastern region, more or less from the Rhone valley to the Don Valley, with Vestonice and Prednost in Czechoslovakia and Willendorf in , are sites oí' ureat significance that have increased our knowledge of the Upper Paleolithic with the con- trihution of priceless pieces. There is also the Russian group

with sitos such as Kostenki, Fig. 32.- Collar belonging to a Motilón Indino, Note the inclu.ion nl mcdals s oh intge. u1'sain^t. Gagarino, Avdeevo. Mezine, Fig. 32.- Collar de un indio motilón , en el que se incluyen medallas con efigies de santos. etc - and the Siberian group with cites such as or Buret. later stages are not nearly so evi- defined features. Even though on It would he an uncertain task dent. such as the case oí' the first glance samples from there to determine the spread of the deposits in the valley of the were interpreted as belonging lo core and ramifications oí' the Yellow River. the sane unit as the unes froni Upper Palcolithic. realizing that The areas of the Upper Paleo- Western Europe according lo the there are doubtful sites where lithic become well defined in the French rule of classification. stu- despite evident remains of Eastern and Central parts of dies in recent years have pointed 60 Mousterian culture, remains of Europe. having their own well out the great differences existing CHAPTER ll. THE MORE RECENT TIMES OF THE PALEOLITHIC AGE

Iberian Peninsula has a close relationship with recognized cul- tures in France, though in come cases there are local variants. We of course are excluding the Can- tabrian shelf from this, which belongs to the Upper Paleolithic unit from Central and Southern France. In Italy. it shows a nature different from that of the French and Spanish. Though their knowledge may Nave been common. it shows subtleties that must have come from Central Europe. e So therefore. during the Upper Paleolithic our Horno sapiens s. was moving around in an area that is culturally defined as being from to the Ibe- a rian Peninsula with greater or 5 crns. lesser differences, and along this road, Czechoslovakia and Aus- Fig. 33.- Solutrean tips : ( a) and ( h) are laurel leaf; (c) is notched. Fig. 33.- Puntas solutrenses ; «a» y «b» de «hoja de laurel >,: « c» de muesca. tria as testimonial milestones of the traffic between East and between the two, making us rea- sions of the Upper. In the manu- West. lize that although there may facture of objects they show Some vine thousand years have been common origin, the bifacial working and shaft ele- before Christ, when the climate stages of their spread and later ments, and at their Western left behind the rigors of cold and settlement show clear differen- limits in , flared arrow- started to become more like the ces manifesting local evolution, heads with shafts similar to climate we enjoy today, the especially where art is concer- those that were spread across French-Cantabrian culture expan- ned. at a similar time. How- ded to the North and Northeast, We do not know how much of ever, there is no evidence of con- with , the British Isles, the Upper Paleolithic in North tact between the two crafts. At Germany and Holland getting into Africa corresponds to contribu- the end of the Pleistocene seve- it later on, areas where the last tions from this stage as we ra] groups develop including the manifestations of the Paleolithic understand it in its European Sahara, which in its early phase still flourished for a brief period of context, or if it is really local is more or less contemporary to time. progress starting off in the the . In this whole panorama, the Middle Paleolithic. For example, The European Mediterranean abundant enclave of deposits in so-called Aterian crafts from the region is partially included with- France and Spain is defined as a locality of Bir el Ater in in the great Western culture of vital nerve center: the brain and have their roots in the Middle the Upper Paleolithic, but with heart of the Upper Paleolithic. Paleolithic and initial expres- distinguishing subtleties. The The watersheds of the Dordogne, 61 PREHISTORIC CAVE ART

Fig. 34.- Cueto de la Mina Shelter (Llanes ). Tips of a type from the Upper Solutrean. 62 Fig. 34.- Abrigo de Cueto de la Mina) Llanes). Tipo de puntas del Solutrense superior. CHAPTER 11. THE MORE RECENT TIMES OF THE PALEOLITHIC AGE

Garonne and Rhone, the Pyre- nees re-ion and the coastal parí of Spanish Cantabria from Irún to Asturias include the most select part, although there are significant deposits farther south on the Peninsula itself. So our prehistoric ancestors played on this stage as the prota- gonists of a frozen world, where the relative warmth of a few river valleys protected by guar- ding mountain walls battered by heavy storms, or similar warmth at sea leve] along the coast, pro- vided certain confort to those human groups so firmly commit- ted to survival. How does the life of this Fig. 35.- Coya Rosa (Ribadesella). Solutrean tips. prehistoric population develop? Fig. 35.-Coya Rosa (Ribadesella). Puntas solutrenses. Thanks to knowledge acquired throughout several decades of and food reserves, yet they were posts and hides making his dwe- research that has become increa- numerous enough, some twenty lling twice as confortable; singly scientific with the availa- to forty individuals, because human manufacture coming bility of material salvaged from man knew his weakness in froin perhaps before Upper Pale- many excavations and the invol- facing the great dangers around olithic man (Lazaret cave), that vement of specialties required by him alone. Illness would be fre- continued in use after being this kind of work, along with quent, but infants went through a more or less perfected. This has varied hypotheses that gradually series of trials that only the been confirmed by the important are being cleared up through strongest could survive. Meat discovery of the cabin structure support provided by new disco- and fish composed one of the made with marnmoth tusks at the veries, a rather inexact picture most desired diets, though they very entrance of the great cave has been drawn that to some also ate fruit, vegetables, roots at Arcy-sur-Cure and others. extent provides an answer to the and honey. Man also used outside camps question that is posed. They dwelt in caverns with under less severe climatic condi- Our ancestors lived together some regularity and favored tions. in small groups separated by a them during periods of intense These small human commu- certain amount of territory. cold, and set up near the nities were nomadic, something However, there was communica- entrance where they received not they were used to in the search tion between them, because only shelter and protection from for vegetable foodstuffs and spread of cultural and craft the rain and cold, but also had following the herds for hunting, forms back up this supposition. natural light. clean air and weak which in avoidance of danger. These groups were made up of sunshine. But in addition to this would move to friendlier aneas. small numbers of individuals to natural rock shelter, man also Therefore, the shelter of the avoid problems with leadership built his home below: a hut of caverns remained there to 63