Papers by Paula López-Calle
Sautuola, 2024
La cueva de Altamira es uno de los conjuntos más significativos para estudiar los orígenes del si... more La cueva de Altamira es uno de los conjuntos más significativos para estudiar los orígenes del simbolismo, la creatividad humana, el arte y las
creencias de los grupos cazadores-recolectores del Paleolítico superior europeo. A pesar de haber sido la primera cueva en que fue identificado
el arte rupestre paleolítico, su comprensión aún es parcial, debido a la complejidad de su estudio y a los condicionantes que la conservación ha
supuesto en las últimas décadas. Este trabajo presenta la documentación y estudio del arte rupestre identificado en la Unidad Topográfica I del
Sector V. Éste ha permitido la localización de nuevas figuras y la revisión de las previamente conocidas, y se centra en su estudio formal, técnico
y estilístico, discutiendo aspectos vinculados al proceso gráfico (recursos de representación, encuadres y encajes, referencias al espacio y valor
de las marcas negras y rojas), a la cronología -abordando la discusión sobre su sincronía o diacronía- y al uso del grafismo tras su ejecución.
The cave of Altamira is one of the most significant sites for studying the origins of symbolism, human creativity, art and beliefs of hunter-
gatherer groups in the European Upper Palaeolithic. Despite having been the first cave in which Palaeolithic rock art was identified, our understanding
of its imagery is still partial, due to the complexity of its study and the preservation issues that have been faced in recent decades.
This paper presents the documentation and study of the rock art identified Topographic Unit I in Sector V. This has been able to locate new
figures and revise those previously known, focusing on their formal, technical and stylistic analysis, discussing aspects linked to the graphic
process (representation resources, framing, references to space, and assessment of black and red marks), chronology (including a discussion
about its synchrony or diachrony), and the possible uses of Palaeolithic images after their execution.
European Journal of Archaeology
AMS radiocarbon dating has been widely applied in Palaeolithic art research and its value has bee... more AMS radiocarbon dating has been widely applied in Palaeolithic art research and its value has been proven over the past three decades. Yet it still suffers from issues that need to be discussed and analysed to improve future sampling strategies and strengthen the interpretation of the results. This study presents new AMS dates for the parietal art in Cueva de Las Chimeneas in northern Spain, describes the quality of the samples, and discusses their reliability. The joint assessment of the dates and its comparison with previously obtained dates as well as stratified and dated portable art makes it possible to put forward a hypothesis about the time of creation of the cave's parietal art and the degree of synchrony or diachrony in its production. Consequently, it is proposed that the cave art at Las Chimeneas was created in the lower Magdalenian, between 19,000 and 17,500 cal bp.
European Journal of Archaeology, 2022
AMS radiocarbon dating has been widely applied in Palaeolithic art research and its value has bee... more AMS radiocarbon dating has been widely applied in Palaeolithic art research and its value has been proven over the past three decades. Yet it still suffers from issues that need to be discussed and analysed to improve future sampling strategies and strengthen the interpretation of the results. This study presents new AMS dates for the parietal art in Cueva de Las Chimeneas in northern Spain, describes the quality of the samples, and discusses their reliability. The joint assessment of the dates and its comparison with previously obtained dates as well as stratified and dated portable art makes it possible to put forward a hypothesis about the time of creation of the cave's parietal art and the degree of synchrony or diachrony in its production. Consequently, it is proposed that the cave art at Las Chimeneas was created in the lower Magdalenian, between 19,000 and 17,500 cal BP.
Cambridge Archaeological Journal
Palaeolithic representations can be approached from different perspectives. Studying the creative... more Palaeolithic representations can be approached from different perspectives. Studying the creative processes, we can glimpse the decisions that the Palaeolithic artists made and the actions they carried out to materialize an idea. Additionally, the combined study of both graphic and functional actions performed on an object provides a comprehensive approach and understanding of the evidence: in the first place, it allows us to hypothesize about the presence or absence of symbolic purpose of the representations; secondly, it makes the potential choice of eliminating such symbolism discernible for us. The monographic study of a Magdalenian pebble from Coímbre Cave (Asturias, Spain) engraved between 15,680 and 14,230 cal. bp shows that a mistake was made during the engraving process; subsequently an attempt was made to eliminate the representations, and finally the pebble was used as a hammerstone. This paper provides argumentation to reconstruct a complex biography of an object of Pala...
Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2022
Palaeolithic representations can be approached from different perspectives. Studying the creative... more Palaeolithic representations can be approached from different perspectives. Studying the creative processes, we can glimpse the decisions that the Palaeolithic artists made and the actions they carried out to materialize an idea. Additionally, the combined study of both graphic and functional actions performed on an object provides a comprehensive approach and understanding of the evidence: in the first place, it allows us to hypothesize about the presence or absence of symbolic purpose of the representations; secondly, it makes the potential choice of eliminating such symbolism discernible for us. The monographic study of a Magdalenian pebble from Coímbre Cave (Asturias, Spain) engraved between 15,680 and 14,230 cal. BP shows that a mistake was made during the engraving process; subsequently an attempt was made to eliminate the representations, and finally the pebble was used as a hammerstone. This paper provides argumentation to reconstruct a complex biography of an object of Palaeolithic portable art, discussing intentional loss of symbolic value of both the decoration and the object and the latter's reuse (as raw material) for an economic or domestic purpose.
Numerical chronology is one of the main sources of information by which one may contextualize pre... more Numerical chronology is one of the main sources of information by which one may contextualize prehistoric human activity more precisely. It is able to discriminate between different times of visits to caves and determine the period with which each form of evidence should be associated and the relationships between them. The application of conventional 14C and 14C-AMS has dated visits to the Palaeolithic cave art site of Las Monedas during historical times. The results underscore the caution that is needed when dating a cave art ensemble based on an undated archaeological context or attributing all the graphic activity to a single time.
Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 2021
Numerical chronology is one of the main sources of information by which one may contextualize pre... more Numerical chronology is one of the main sources of information by which one may contextualize prehistoric human activity more precisely. It is able to discriminate between different times of visits to caves and determine the period with which each form of evidence should be associated and the relationships between them. The application of conventional 14C and 14C-AMS has dated visits to the Palaeolithic cave art site of Las Monedas during historical times. The results underscore the caution that is needed when dating a cave art ensemble based on an undated archaeological context or attributing all the graphic activity to a single time.
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Papers by Paula López-Calle
creencias de los grupos cazadores-recolectores del Paleolítico superior europeo. A pesar de haber sido la primera cueva en que fue identificado
el arte rupestre paleolítico, su comprensión aún es parcial, debido a la complejidad de su estudio y a los condicionantes que la conservación ha
supuesto en las últimas décadas. Este trabajo presenta la documentación y estudio del arte rupestre identificado en la Unidad Topográfica I del
Sector V. Éste ha permitido la localización de nuevas figuras y la revisión de las previamente conocidas, y se centra en su estudio formal, técnico
y estilístico, discutiendo aspectos vinculados al proceso gráfico (recursos de representación, encuadres y encajes, referencias al espacio y valor
de las marcas negras y rojas), a la cronología -abordando la discusión sobre su sincronía o diacronía- y al uso del grafismo tras su ejecución.
The cave of Altamira is one of the most significant sites for studying the origins of symbolism, human creativity, art and beliefs of hunter-
gatherer groups in the European Upper Palaeolithic. Despite having been the first cave in which Palaeolithic rock art was identified, our understanding
of its imagery is still partial, due to the complexity of its study and the preservation issues that have been faced in recent decades.
This paper presents the documentation and study of the rock art identified Topographic Unit I in Sector V. This has been able to locate new
figures and revise those previously known, focusing on their formal, technical and stylistic analysis, discussing aspects linked to the graphic
process (representation resources, framing, references to space, and assessment of black and red marks), chronology (including a discussion
about its synchrony or diachrony), and the possible uses of Palaeolithic images after their execution.
creencias de los grupos cazadores-recolectores del Paleolítico superior europeo. A pesar de haber sido la primera cueva en que fue identificado
el arte rupestre paleolítico, su comprensión aún es parcial, debido a la complejidad de su estudio y a los condicionantes que la conservación ha
supuesto en las últimas décadas. Este trabajo presenta la documentación y estudio del arte rupestre identificado en la Unidad Topográfica I del
Sector V. Éste ha permitido la localización de nuevas figuras y la revisión de las previamente conocidas, y se centra en su estudio formal, técnico
y estilístico, discutiendo aspectos vinculados al proceso gráfico (recursos de representación, encuadres y encajes, referencias al espacio y valor
de las marcas negras y rojas), a la cronología -abordando la discusión sobre su sincronía o diacronía- y al uso del grafismo tras su ejecución.
The cave of Altamira is one of the most significant sites for studying the origins of symbolism, human creativity, art and beliefs of hunter-
gatherer groups in the European Upper Palaeolithic. Despite having been the first cave in which Palaeolithic rock art was identified, our understanding
of its imagery is still partial, due to the complexity of its study and the preservation issues that have been faced in recent decades.
This paper presents the documentation and study of the rock art identified Topographic Unit I in Sector V. This has been able to locate new
figures and revise those previously known, focusing on their formal, technical and stylistic analysis, discussing aspects linked to the graphic
process (representation resources, framing, references to space, and assessment of black and red marks), chronology (including a discussion
about its synchrony or diachrony), and the possible uses of Palaeolithic images after their execution.