Aitor Ruiz-Redondo

The use of clay for symbolic or ritual activities can be confidently traced back to the Palaeolithic. One of the earliest documented examples is the presence of clay-based paintings at European Upper Palaeolithic cave sites. However, references to such artworks are scarce, and almost no attention has been given to the study of their technical and graphic characteristics. The recent discovery of Cova Dones (Spain), which contains nearly a hundred clay-painted motifs, has enabled us to analyse previously unexplored aspects of this rock art. In this article, we reconstruct the chaîne opératoire of these motifs and establish a typology of their various states based on taphonomic alterations. Our aim is to compile, define, and present a series of evidence that can be identified as Palaeolithic clay paintings or associated with different phases of their chaîne opératoire based on the rich graphic record of Cova Dones. This catalogue is intended to assist archaeologists in identifying this type of evidence in other cave sites.

Since the second half of the twentieth century, globalization has transformed archaeology into a ‘geoculture’ (using Wallerstein’s words) defined by the increasing circulation of ideas within a worldwide scientific community. This change has not only affected the ways in which new paradigms and methods are transmitted, but it has also significantly broadened the geographical boundaries of archaeological research. The example of Palaeolithic rock art can be used to illustrate the various dimensions of this transformation. In Europe, Pleistocene cave art was considered a phenomenon with a ‘core’ firmly embedded in the Franco-Cantabrian region and a ‘periphery’ which included some neighbouring areas, such as Southern Spain and Italy. Despite some discoveries in Russia (1957) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (1973), this reductionist view remained unchallenged until the beginning of the twenty-first century. Non-European sites were often disregarded and reduced to the status of ‘outliers’ in relation to the central core area, resulting in the limitation, rather than invigoration, of research in these regions. However, the new millennium has witnessed a significant increase in the number of European countries with well-dated Paleolithic cave art sites, including the United Kingdom and Romania, among others. Nevertheless, the greatest shifts in the field of rock art studies globally have emerged during the last decade with: (1) the discovery of Paleolithic rock art in locations very distant from the traditional European ‘core’ (e.g., Australia and Indonesia), and (2) the development of systematic archaeological rock art surveys in areas outside of the ‘periphery’ (e.g., Southeast Europe). Today, it is evident that Paleolithic rock art is a widespread global phenomenon. Despite this, a vast majority of teams and specialists are still focused on the Franco-Cantabrian region, and they seldomly develop research in ‘new’ territories. Hence, globalization has led to an increasing awareness of the ‘Franco-Cantabrian bias,’ but has archaeological research changed accordingly?

Šandalja II has been a reference site for numerous decades for the definition and study of the Eastern Adriatic Upper Palaeolithic and corresponding techno-complexes. This is due both to its extensive material record, and the purported presence of some otherwise elusive techno-complexes in the area, such as the Aurignacian and the Early Epigravettian. In this paper, we present two new series of C14-AMS dates (from layers H, E, C/d and A/d) to assess the validity of its archaeological sequence, together with previously obtained radiocarbon dates, both AMS and conventional. The results show, unambiguously, the lack of reliability of the stratigraphy defined for the site during the excavation. A simple chronometric deconstruction reveals, at the very least, that the assemblages from Šandalja II can no longer be considered and used as an example of the diachronic evolution within the Aurignacian and Epigravettian of the Eastern Adriatic, thus calling for a further re-evaluation of features defined for the Adriatic Upper Palaeolithic on the basis on the assemblages from Šandalja II. Hence Šandalja II joins an increasing list of so-called reference sites which must not be considered as “referential” anymore.

Research on post-Palaeolithic schematic rock art has changed substantially since its identification and definition almost a century ago. In the areas where this phenomenon is extensively studied (such as South and East Iberia), a chronological and cultural sequence has been established. This is due to the large number of rock art finds and the study of their archaeological context, which includes numerous portable art analogies. Based on this documentation, it has been proposed that its origins lie in the Early Neolithic and that it persisted until the Chalcolithic (c. 6th – 3rd millennium cal BC) or even, in some areas, until the Bronze Age. In this paper, we present the recent discovery of graphic motifs with similar characteristics in the Badanj II rock shelter. In the context of other finds in the Western and Central Mediterranean, this is an interesting indicator that leads us to suggest a connection between this graphic expression and the dispersion, establishment, and consolidation of Neolithic groups in Europe.

This article presents details of the recent discovery of Palaeolithic cave art in Cova Dones, Valencia. The preliminary results reveal a rich graphic assemblage with features that are unusual for Mediterranean Upper Palaeolithic art and were previously unknown for the Pleistocene in the eastern Iberian coast.

The Balkan Peninsula has acted as a crossroads between Asia and Europe throughout human history. Different waves of prehistoric human migration passed through this territory over time (Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo neanderthalensis, Homo sapiens, early farmers…). Probably this important role boosted the early archaeological explorations in the area, and, perhaps, is still behind the recent ‘blossoming’ of research projects and key discoveries. Nevertheless, South-eastern Europe was more than a mere ‘corridor’ for some prehistoric groups, who made this area their home. The exceptional nature of a number of sites and discoveries points to this fact. In this introduction, we summarise the history of Palaeolithic research from the early discoveries in the 19th century to the latest breakthroughs. The latest developments and the archaeological potential of this territory anticipate a promising future for Early Prehistoric research in South-eastern Europe.

Palaeolithic rock art is one of the most distinctive cultural traits of Upper Palaeolithic societies in Europe. Traditionally restricted to South-western Europe, especially to the Franco-Cantabrian province, in recent years, the geographic distribution of this phenomenon has noticeably expanded. Several years before these discoveries, the first decorated site found beyond southern Europe was Kapova cave, in Russia. This site, at the edge of the distribution area of European Palaeolithic art and far away from other cave sanctuaries, is key to define and understand potential long-distance cultural networks during the Upper Palaeolithic. In this paper, we present the first comprehensive inventory of the artworks, a renewed documentation of the graphic units (including the first digital tracings), the spatial distribution and the stylistic analysis of the different motifs. This led us to understand the role of Kapova within the Palaeolithic symbolism and to better integrate it in the Palaeolithic cultural dynamics.