Испанийн хойд хэсэгт орших агуйн хүрэхэд бэрх танхимд хийсэн судалгаагаар хүн төрөлхтөн мөстлөгийн үеэс төмрийн зэвсгийн үе хүртэлх урт хугацаанд уг газрыг шүтлэг бишрэлийн төв болгон ашиглаж байсныг тогтоов.
Бургос мужийн Cueva Palomera агуйн систем дэх Sala Keimada хэмээх уг танхим нь 13 метр өргөн боловч ердөө 0.2 метр өндөр нарийхан гарцаар дамжин хүрдэг онцлогтой. Dr. Ana Isabel Ortega Martínez-аар удирдуулсан судлаачдын баг тус танхим дахь нүүрс, ясны үлдэгдэл болон хадны сүг зурагт нүүрстөрөгчийн он цаг тогтоох шинжилгээгээр 18 шинэ огноог илрүүлжээ. Энэхүү судалгааны үр дүн тавдугаар сарын 23-нд Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports сэтгүүлд нийтлэгдсэн байна.
Шинжилгээгээр уг танхимыг хамгийн анх 13,700 орчим жилийн өмнө буюу палеолитын үед ашиглаж эхэлсэн болохыг тогтоосон бол хамгийн сүүлийн үеийн олдвор нь 2,100 жилийн тэртээх төмрийн зэвсгийн үеийн тооройн яс байв. Судлаачид тус танхимд неолит, энеолит болон хүрэл зэвсгийн үеийн олон удаагийн ул мөр байгаа нь уг газар олон мянган жилийн турш тасралтгүй шүтлэг бишрэлийн байр суурь эзэлж байсныг гэрчилж байна гэж үзжээ. Үе үеийн хүмүүс өмнөх үеийнхний үлдээсэн урлагийн бүтээлийг гэмтээлгүйгээр хадгалж, шинээр тэмдэглэгээ нэмдэг байсан нь ажиглагдсан байна.
Судалгааны явцад шохойн чулуун хоёр том хавтангаас бүрдэх, амьтны дүрс бүхий бүтцийг илрүүлсэн нь онцгой ач холбогдолтой олдвор болжээ. Уг байгууламжийг тойрсон сийлбэр болон нүүрсний ул мөр нь тухайн үед хүмүүс энэ далд танхимд идэвхтэй зан үйл үйлддэг байсныг харуулж байна. Судлаачид энэхүү байгууламжийг Испанийн Tito Bustillo агуйд бүртгэгдсэн палеолитын үеийн чулуун хөшөөтэй төстэй болохыг тэмдэглэжээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
New radiocarbon dates from Sala Keimada, a hard-to-reach chamber of Cueva Palomera in Burgos, northern Spain, suggest that people returned to this sacred cave from the end of the Ice Age through the Iron Age. Over that long stretch, visitors left behind art, structures and offerings.
Cueva Palomera is the main entrance to the Ojo Guareña cave system, and it is where most of the system’s rock art spaces are located. The study was led by Dr. Ana Isabel Ortega Martínez, a researcher at the Royal Burgos Academy of History and Fine Arts, Fernán González Institution, together with her colleagues.
Their findings, published on May 23 in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, add Sala Keimada to a growing list of cave sanctuaries across the Iberian Peninsula. Prehistoric peoples returned to these places century after century, and they clearly considered them sacred.
A Crawl Into the Dark
Getting to Sala Keimada is no casual stroll. Visitors have to make their way along a crawl, a wide and low passage that measures 13 m across but only 0.2 m in height. That is a very tight squeeze, to put it mildly.
Despite that, people kept making the journey. According to the authors, who describe Sala Keimada as one of the most hidden sanctuaries in Cueva Palomera and one with difficult access.
“This implies that, over the millennia, as well as using the entrance areas as a habitat, humans repeatedly visited this complex underground world.”
Eighteen Dates, Eight Phases
To reconstruct the chamber’s history, the team obtained 18 new radiocarbon dates from charcoal samples, drawings and bone remains scattered throughout Sala Keimada. The oldest dates back roughly 13,700 years, placing the earliest known use of the site firmly in the Upper Paleolithic.
The newest belongs to a domestic piglet, whose bones were found in a small rocky pool. They date to around 2,100 years ago, during the Iron Age, which indicates the animal may have been brought deep into the cave as a ritual offering. Between those two extremes, the evidence points to repeated visits during the Neolithic, the Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age.
Each generation of visitors to the spanish cave also appears to have respected the artwork left by its predecessors. They added new marks and drawings while leaving earlier ones intact.
“It is remarkable that eight different phases have been detected in Sala Keimada, one of the most hidden sanctuaries with difficult access in Cueva Palomera,” the authors said.
A Slab Facing the Paintings
Among the most significant discoveries, the scientists point to a complex structure built from two large limestone slabs. The slabs stand upright, lean against one another and are reinforced by smaller stones.
As described in the study, published by theJournal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the main slab measures 1.5 m in length. Its carefully shaped upper edge creates a pointed profile resembling an animal figure facing the main panel of paintings.
The slab and some of the stones supporting it preserve engravings and charcoal marks that, according to the researchers, attest to intense human activity around the structure. The team also drew a comparison with another site.
“In terms of its characteristics, it closely resembles another Paleolithic slab documented in Tito Bustillo Cave (Ribadesella, Asturias), although it is larger,” the authors added.
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