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Rupestrian Art from the Paleolithic on the Cantabrian Coast (extension of Altamira)

Les noms des biens figurent dans la langue dans laquelle les Etats parties les ont soumis.

Espagne (Europe et Amérique du nord)

Date de soumission : 26/06/1998
Critères: (i)(iii)
Catégorie : Culturel
Soumission préparée par :
Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores
Coordonnées
Cantabria
Ref.: 1014

Description

Palaeolithic cave painting is the most outstanding example of a series of changes that marked a major evolutionary stage of European prehistory, and is fundamental as evidence if we are to understand this change. Cultural change in western Europe during the Late Palaeolithic Period, coincident with the appearance of a new human species, led to the development of a new socio-economic model and a life style centred upon caves and sheltered areas, which in turn facilitated this form of artistic expression. These changes also meant that works of art were saved for posterity, since they used a non-perishable medium - cave walls and roofs - and they triggered the creation and development of a whole range of painting, engraving and sculpting techniques which were to provide answers to problems involving volume, perspective and anatomy.

The large number of caves containing mural art to be found in the area constitutes Late Palaeolithic man's artistic expression. On these walls, he painted the fauna of the Quaternary period, alongside a few human forms and symbols of different kinds.

Painting and engraving are the techniques employed. Engraving was carried out using carving tools or simply by pressing fingers into the fresh clay of the cave. The principal techniques used by the Palaeolithic artist are the three forms of painting-brushwork, imprinting and blowing.


Pigments were made from either mineral oxides (manganese for black or ochre) or vegetable matter, which was mixed with animal fats and glues.

Themes reflect the standard ones of all western Europe. The most frequent are naturalistic human or animal forms and ideograms, or shapes that had symbolic value. Although interpreting their meaning is a matter of some controversy, these illustrations, which reflect Palaeolithic man's concept of the world, are related to magic rites, and are linked to Humanity's earliest expressions of religious feeling. It is a lavish, diverse art form that left works of art of exceptional quality and enormous expressive capacity.