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PALEOLITHIC ART EN LA SAFOR
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The techniques used are painting and engraving, sometimes combined.
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Excavations in la Cova del Parpalló, years 30 (century XX). Of left to right: Julián Sanvalero, Lluis Pericot, Sánchez, Gimenez y Domingo Fletcher (photo SIP).
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A great part of paleolithic art in Valencia comes from La Safor. In fact, the platelet collection of Cova del Parpalló is the richest from those found until now in all Europe and has the absolutelly exceptional virtue of taking in from the Gravetien to the end of the Magdelenian. This places us around 15.000 years from the paleolithic art.
Paradoxically, in La Safor there are scarce evidences of parietal art, which is poorly documented in the whole peninsular Mediterranean side if the Andalusian area is excluded. Only the recent discovery of some carved and painted figures in the same Cova del Parpalló have contributed to solve a part of this deficiency, but its importance is still going on nowadays, excessively reduced, probably due to prospection and preservation reasons.
In the area of Valencia the first figurative evidences correspond to the GRAVETIENSE and consist of a reduced lot of limestone platelets in Malladetes and Parpalló caves, in which animal figures and signs are represented.
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Excavations in la Cova del Parpalló, years 30 (century XX). In the center Lluis Pericot, director of excavations and the overseer, Salvador Espí (foto SIP).
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From the begining of the upper Paleolithic, the Aurignian (30.000-26.000 B.P.), only some ornament objects are known (teeth and holed shells) that are from some sites in the border counties of La Safor: Cova Foradada (Xàbia, La Marina Alta) and Cova de Beneito (Agres, El Comtat).
During the Solutrean, the Parpalló movable art experienced a real blooming, and the parietal figure of the horse engraving found in the wall at the rear end of the cave could refer to that moment, as well as probably the goat painted in Cova de Reinós (La Vall d’Ebo, La Marina Alta).
The high quantity of platelets is kept in Parpalló until the end of the Magdelenian. And, although with some doubts, the parietal engravings of Cova Fosca (La Vall d’Ebo, La Marina Alta) and other movable pieces found in different sites from Alicante or Castellón could refer to these dates. The parietal engravings of l’Abric d’En Melià (Serra d’en Galceran, La Plana Alta seem to be corresponding just to the end of that cycle.
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Painting. Goat
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The Parpalló artistical thematic brings to a regional level the one from the Paleolithic art of the suboccidental European region. The cold species do not exist and the animals represented are limited do some herviborous (deers, goats, horses, aurochs, and, of less importance, wild boards and chamoises). There are scarce carnivorous (fox and lynx) and some birds (a web-footed one and a partridge). The human figure is rarely documented and the signs are very abundant, with the command of rectangulars in the Solutrean and the ones with a complex production in the Magdelenian.
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Engraving. Red deer
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Engraving. Horse
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Engraving. Goat
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