Prehistoric animal sculptures in Portugal
.jpg)
The prehistoric animal sculptures in Portugal , with two exceptions ( Anta da Comenda da Igreja from Callaïs and Cova da Moura from malachite ), are all made of bone and represent up to three centimeters tall, upright rabbits . The different specimen from the Gruta da Galinha is apparently a rabbit.
The posture of the hind legs, which form a surface with the tail, shows that the animals are shown in an upright position; on the other hand, piercings suggest that they were worn hanging as jewelry. In almost all well-preserved specimens, the feet are pierced horizontally. In the case of six sculptures, there is another flat, round hole in addition to the hole.
In three cases ( Cabeco da Arruda , Cascais and Lapa do Bugio ) two animals are shown grown together with their rear parts. In Cabeco da Arruda with common backs; at Cascais and Lapa do Bugio there is a third pair of legs in the middle, common to both bodies. The double representations do not show any sitting animals.
The frequency of these sculptures found as grave goods suggests that it is a religious symbol that is related to the fertility cult.
The distribution of the small animal sculptures is limited - with the exception of the pieces from Olival da Péga - to the coastal area north of the Tejo estuary . They are absent south of the Tagus, in the Algarve or in southeastern Spain.
In Portugal, their frequent occurrence in grottos and megalithic tombs and their appearance in the late tomb Cabeço da Arruda 1 give them an independent position.
See also
literature
- Vera Leisner : The megalithic tombs of the Iberian Peninsula. The West. De Gruyter, Berlin 1965, p.
- Jürgen E. Walkowitz: The megalithic syndrome. European cult sites of the Stone Age (= contributions to the prehistory and early history of Central Europe. Vol. 36). Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2003, ISBN 3-930036-70-3 , p.?.