The Equus Project: a new paradigm for Galician and Northern Portugal's rock art.Presentation delivered at the 20th International Rock Art Conference IFRAO 2018 (Val Camonica, Darfo Boario Terme Italy, 30th August 2018) during the session And the Holocene Arrived: Post-Palaeolithic Rock Art Around..., 2018
Over a century of research on Galician and Northern Portuguese rock art has consistently identifi... more Over a century of research on Galician and Northern Portuguese rock art has consistently identified the deer as the most frequently represented animal, relegating the presence of equids to a marginal, anecdotal role. Within this naturalistic style, equids typically appear only within deer hunting scenes, where the deer dominates the iconographic landscape of Galician petroglyphs.
However, a clear paradigm shift in zoomorphic representation emerges, with its natural boundary located at the Bay of Vigo. South of this point, the deer takes on a secondary role, becoming less prominent in hunting scene engravings. In this new context, deer are pushed into the background by the omnipresence of equids, which establish a new model for hunting scenes in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula.
Equids are depicted in diverse scenarios: alone, in groups, ridden, harassed, or even hunted by humans. As in the deer hunting scenes, equids are often surrounded by anthropomorphic figures on foot or horseback, aided by canines, and shown injured or caught in traps. Despite the change in the central figure, the same iconographic discourse is maintained, reflecting a shift in symbolic focus while preserving traditional narrative structures.
Keywords: new paradigm, Equidae, Galician-Portuguese, rock art, Equus Project.
ISBN: 978-84-09-69912-4
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Papers by Xilberte Manso
After an intensive fieldwork, the Equus Project, developed by the “Instituto de Estudos Miñoráns”, elaborated a new paradigm in the sense that we know, at this moment, from Vigo estuary to the river Lima, only twelve places with deer engraved and about 115 with equine animals. These contain hunting scenes with horses pursued by anthropomorphic figures on foot and riding, helped by dogs, horses captured alive, injured, killed, sometimes falling in traps. Therefore, we have the same iconographic discourse than north of Vigo estuary, only the actor changes: an equine animal.
KEY WORDS: petroglyphs, Galician-Portuguese, equids, garrons, hunting, iconography, archaeology.
BOOKS by Xilberte Manso
However, a clear paradigm shift in zoomorphic representation emerges, with its natural boundary located at the Bay of Vigo. South of this point, the deer takes on a secondary role, becoming less prominent in hunting scene engravings. In this new context, deer are pushed into the background by the omnipresence of equids, which establish a new model for hunting scenes in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula.
Equids are depicted in diverse scenarios: alone, in groups, ridden, harassed, or even hunted by humans. As in the deer hunting scenes, equids are often surrounded by anthropomorphic figures on foot or horseback, aided by canines, and shown injured or caught in traps. Despite the change in the central figure, the same iconographic discourse is maintained, reflecting a shift in symbolic focus while preserving traditional narrative structures.
Keywords: new paradigm, Equidae, Galician-Portuguese, rock art, Equus Project.
ISBN: 978-84-09-69912-4
After an intensive fieldwork, the Equus Project, developed by the “Instituto de Estudos Miñoráns”, elaborated a new paradigm in the sense that we know, at this moment, from Vigo estuary to the river Lima, only twelve places with deer engraved and about 115 with equine animals. These contain hunting scenes with horses pursued by anthropomorphic figures on foot and riding, helped by dogs, horses captured alive, injured, killed, sometimes falling in traps. Therefore, we have the same iconographic discourse than north of Vigo estuary, only the actor changes: an equine animal.
KEY WORDS: petroglyphs, Galician-Portuguese, equids, garrons, hunting, iconography, archaeology.
However, a clear paradigm shift in zoomorphic representation emerges, with its natural boundary located at the Bay of Vigo. South of this point, the deer takes on a secondary role, becoming less prominent in hunting scene engravings. In this new context, deer are pushed into the background by the omnipresence of equids, which establish a new model for hunting scenes in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula.
Equids are depicted in diverse scenarios: alone, in groups, ridden, harassed, or even hunted by humans. As in the deer hunting scenes, equids are often surrounded by anthropomorphic figures on foot or horseback, aided by canines, and shown injured or caught in traps. Despite the change in the central figure, the same iconographic discourse is maintained, reflecting a shift in symbolic focus while preserving traditional narrative structures.
Keywords: new paradigm, Equidae, Galician-Portuguese, rock art, Equus Project.
ISBN: 978-84-09-69912-4