Exhibit A: Map of Cantabria
Fig. 1. Red painted panel in Castillo Cave. Ca. 15,000 BP.
The signs match major rivers and cave sanctuaries (nos. 1-10).
The signs match major rivers and cave sanctuaries (nos. 1-10).
Fig. 2. Essential map of Cantabria. Location of known cave sanctuaries:
Mt. Castillo (1), Altamira (2), Las Aguas (3), unknown ? (4), Cudón ? (5),
Sovilla (6), El Pendo (7), Cullalvera (8), Covalanas (9), Arco “B” (10).
Mt. Castillo (1), Altamira (2), Las Aguas (3), unknown ? (4), Cudón ? (5),
Sovilla (6), El Pendo (7), Cullalvera (8), Covalanas (9), Arco “B” (10).
Discussion: The winding bands of dots (Fig. 1) recall the rivers Pas and Saja, which run south-to-north like most rivers in Cantabria. At the top (i.e. the south), the enclosed field of parallel dots shows the source of the rivers, namely the ice-covered Cantabrian Mountains. Thus, the mountains are upstream (south), and the ocean is downstream (north).
The ten mandala-like signs largely match the locations of significant cave sanctuaries that are distributed across the strip of habitable land (the “Cantabrian Shelf”) between the mountains and the sea. The largest of these signs (no. 1) is evidently emblematic of the Castillo Mountain itself. This small hill, located on the Pas River, contains five decorated caves that jointly account for as many decorations as the rest of the Cantabrian caves combined. The second-largest sign (no. 2) must then stand for Altamira, which we still acknowledge as a towering monument. Its great ceiling (the “Sistine Chapel” of the Palaeolithic) was undoubtedly admired in its time; in fact, the artists of Castillo Cave imitated its famous, polychrome bison figures. Furthermore, Altamira contains a panel of mandala-like signs like the one (Fig. 1, no. 2) in the Castillo painting. Altamira is located just north of the Saja and close to the confluence of the Saja and the Besaja, as suggested by the Castillo painting.
Among the other signs, one (no. 4) has not matching site and was possibly lost to rising seas following the Ice Age. The eastern group (nos. 8-10) is identified by its location at an east-to-west oriented river (horizontal lines of dots), which is most likely the Carranza (see Fig. 2)
The mentioned caves all belong to a cultural region that is characterized, not only by the type of abstract signs in the Castillo Cave map, but also by shared artistic themes (for example, the figure of a male horse accompanied by groups of female deer). We may read the Castillo painting as an ideological map that illustrates a hierarchy of cultural/religious centers, each represented by an emblematic ideogram. The display showcases the Castillo Mountain as the centerpiece of the entire region--the artists of Castillo were, obviously, proud of their sanctuary.
The ten mandala-like signs largely match the locations of significant cave sanctuaries that are distributed across the strip of habitable land (the “Cantabrian Shelf”) between the mountains and the sea. The largest of these signs (no. 1) is evidently emblematic of the Castillo Mountain itself. This small hill, located on the Pas River, contains five decorated caves that jointly account for as many decorations as the rest of the Cantabrian caves combined. The second-largest sign (no. 2) must then stand for Altamira, which we still acknowledge as a towering monument. Its great ceiling (the “Sistine Chapel” of the Palaeolithic) was undoubtedly admired in its time; in fact, the artists of Castillo Cave imitated its famous, polychrome bison figures. Furthermore, Altamira contains a panel of mandala-like signs like the one (Fig. 1, no. 2) in the Castillo painting. Altamira is located just north of the Saja and close to the confluence of the Saja and the Besaja, as suggested by the Castillo painting.
Among the other signs, one (no. 4) has not matching site and was possibly lost to rising seas following the Ice Age. The eastern group (nos. 8-10) is identified by its location at an east-to-west oriented river (horizontal lines of dots), which is most likely the Carranza (see Fig. 2)
The mentioned caves all belong to a cultural region that is characterized, not only by the type of abstract signs in the Castillo Cave map, but also by shared artistic themes (for example, the figure of a male horse accompanied by groups of female deer). We may read the Castillo painting as an ideological map that illustrates a hierarchy of cultural/religious centers, each represented by an emblematic ideogram. The display showcases the Castillo Mountain as the centerpiece of the entire region--the artists of Castillo were, obviously, proud of their sanctuary.
Exhibit B: Maps of the Rhone delta
Fig. 3. The first of two similar signs in Cosquer. Ca. 23,000 BP.
Fig. 4. The above sign (Fig. 3) overlaid on a map of the Rhone delta.
The Ice Age coast-line is stippled. The “x” marks the location of Cosquer.
The Ice Age coast-line is stippled. The “x” marks the location of Cosquer.
Discussion: Cosquer is located at the mouth of the Rhone, and the sign (Fig. 3) is a fitting map of the delta (the largest in Western Europe), and in particular, of the swampy triangle--presently known as the Camarque--where constant deposits of silt blurs the frontier of land and sea (cf. Fig. 4). The lozenge-shape speaks of the emergence of land out of water (it has a fish-tail), while the rectangular frame stands for the newly-created earth with its four corners (the horizon-positions of the sun at the solstices).
This design is best seen as a mythological map illustrating ideas about the first creation of land out of the sea. As in later mythologies of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the deltas of large rivers were perceived as the prime sites for the emergence of the earth out of a primeval ocean.
This design is best seen as a mythological map illustrating ideas about the first creation of land out of the sea. As in later mythologies of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the deltas of large rivers were perceived as the prime sites for the emergence of the earth out of a primeval ocean.
Fig. 5. A second sign in Cosquer, similar to the above (Fig. 3).
Fig. 6. Map of the lower Rhone with the second sign (Fig. 5) overlaid.
Discussion: Of the two similar Cosquer signs, the first one (Fig. 3) shows the river delta proper to about 25 miles north of the present coast-line, the second sign (Fig. 5) embraces the lowlands to about 75 miles from the coast. Again, this is a broadly triangular area with its apex at the point where the river-basin narrows drastically, and in this view, two added triangles (Fig. 5, left and right) introduce the substantial mountains that frame the Rhone: the Massif Central in the west and the Alps in the east.
The first sign (Fig. 3) is located in the back of the cave, while the second sign is toward the front, which may indicate stages in the creation of the earth: the former is closer to the watery depths; the latter is more advanced, closer to the outside world, with the shape of the land defined by the familiar masses of tall mountains, east and west. Bordered by the sea in the south, the two maps illustrate the worldview of a tribe living at the mouth of a river; that is, a world with a strong dichotomy between land and ocean, ideologically beholden to both realms. Significantly, Cosquer features many simplified, almond shaped pictures of fish and numerous images of seals—at home in both the sea and the river.
The first sign (Fig. 3) is located in the back of the cave, while the second sign is toward the front, which may indicate stages in the creation of the earth: the former is closer to the watery depths; the latter is more advanced, closer to the outside world, with the shape of the land defined by the familiar masses of tall mountains, east and west. Bordered by the sea in the south, the two maps illustrate the worldview of a tribe living at the mouth of a river; that is, a world with a strong dichotomy between land and ocean, ideologically beholden to both realms. Significantly, Cosquer features many simplified, almond shaped pictures of fish and numerous images of seals—at home in both the sea and the river.
Selections from iceageiconology.net, Chapter III, Part Four.
©2023 Jesper Christensen, Art Historian, Ph.D.
©2023 Jesper Christensen, Art Historian, Ph.D.