UNION INTERNATIONALE DES SCIENCES PRÉHISTORIQUES ET PROTOHISTORIQUES

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE XV WORLD CONGRESS (LISBON, 4-9 SEPTEMBER 2006)

ACTES DU XV CONGRÈS MONDIAL (LISBONNE, 4-9 SEPTEMBRE 2006)

Series Editor: Luiz Oosterbeek

VOL. 41

Conceptualising Space and Place

On the role of agency, memory and identity in the
construction of space from the Upper Palaeolithic
to the Iron Age in Europe
C41 - The creation of ‘significant places’ and ‘landscapes’ in the
Northwestern half of the Iberia, during Pre and Proto-historic
times. Theoretical, recording and interpretation issues from case
studies in this region
C72 - Space, Memory and Identity in the European Bronze Age

Edited by

Ana M. S. Bettencourt
M. Jesus Sanches
Lara B. Alves
Ramon Fábregas Valcarce

BAR International Series 2058

2010
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Proceedings of the XV World Congress of the International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences
Actes du XV Congrès Mondial de l’Union Internationale des Sciences Préhistoriques et Protohistoriques

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Volume Editors: Ana M. S. Bettencourt, M. Jesus Sanches, Lara B. Alves and Ramon Fábregas Valcarce

Conceptualising Space and Place: On the role of agency, memory and identity in the construction of space
from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Iron Age in Europe

C41 - The creation of ‘significant places’ and ‘landscapes’ in the Northwestern half of the Iberia, during Pre
and Proto-historic times. Theoretical, recording and interpretation issues from case studies in this region
C72 - Space, Memory and Identity in the European Bronze Age

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 METAL AND THE SYMBOLS OF ANCESTORS
IN NORTHERN IBERIA
Primitiva BUENO RAMIREZ, Rosa BARROSO BERMEJO,
Rodrigo de BALBÍN BEHRMANN
Universidad de Alcalá de Henares

Abstract: Our research on Megalithic Art in the Iberian Peninsula covers questions related to the role of human figures in domestic
and funerary contexts of megalithism. In this paper we intend to analyse the graphic and ideological course manifested by the
representation of armed figures in northern Iberia. The emergence of metal weapons does not imply a drastic ideological change but
rather the transformation and use of already known mythologies to justify the prominent position of leaders who reiterate the graphic
and funerary gestures of their ancestors. They set up as heirs of the tradition. At present, graphic representations assists in the
analysis of significant aspects related with metallurgy in this area, supporting more complex perspectives than those traditionally
admitted and disqualifying categorical statements about a degree of marginalization, which has never been documented by
archaeological evidence. The study of the armed stela of Soalar, Navarra, provide elements for discussing the role of armed figures
in Northern Iberia as well as issues on the presence or absence of specific weapons typologies, especially halberds. Statues, stelae,
menhirs and decorated stones allow us to reconstruct an aggregated population model that, perhaps from the Mesolithic onwards,
associates domestic areas and funerary monuments presided by anthropomorphic images. The respect for the memory of the
ancestors enjoys a wide validity. Also, the confluence of later structures, like the stone settings of Sejos, Peña Oviedo or Soalar,
allied to the use of natural caves in the 1st millennium BC, confirm that this memory still endorses the settlement of groups in the
same territories. Naming these territories as ‘traditional’ is consistent with their constant use and, above all, relates with the
ideological justification used by their inhabitants that rests upon long-standing consuetudinary recognition up to the Iron Age.
Keywords: Neolithic, Copper Age; metalwork; ancestors; graphic expressions

INTRODUCTION references in the social organization of northern Iberian

The diversity of studies that we have been carrying out on
Iberian Megalithic Art covers many questions related with
the role of the human figure in domestic and funerary
contexts of megalithism.
The aim of this analysis is to reflect on the graphical and
ideological stance manifested by the armed figures of
northern Iberia, based on the premise that the addition of
metal weapons does not suppose a radical ideological
change but only the transformation and use of already
known mythologies that reiterate the funerary and graphic
gestures of the ancestors.
A global overview of the evidence from northern Iberia,
understood as the entire territory to the north of River
Tagus, can be very useful in the investigation of the role
of metallurgy in this region. Yet, despite new
developments, research is still largely detached from the
more complex framework from south-eastern Iberia.
The recognition that some weapon representations are
associated with anthropomorphic imagery throughout the
whole of the northern region and the variety of
relationships it manifests, points towards a more complex
reality than the one that has been traditionally proposed.
Moreover, it shows the sheer weight of the megalithic
tradition in all these areas, comparable both with the
south-western reality and with what is known, for a long
time, about the south-east.
The present study focuses on recently documented
evidence which ratifies the value of anthropomorphic
megalithic groups and its permanence as an ancestral
reference in more recent periods of time.
Establishing relations between depicted weapons and their
archaeologically recorded counterparts is an exercise that
other authors have developed following distinct
perspectives (Blas 2003; Bradley 1998; Peña and Rey
2001; Bueno et al. 2005a). Our view develops from
successive works on megalithic statuary in the north of
Iberia (Bueno et al. 1985; Bueno and Fernández-Miranda
1981; Bueno 1995; Bueno et al. 2005a; 2005b), focusing
on the contexts of findings that show, generally, a strong
connection between anthropomorphic representations,
regardless of the type of background, necropolis and
domestic areas with long-term occupation, showing the
deep value of tradition for Iberian metallurgic societies
(Bueno et al. e.p). Its memory bestows importance and
respect to the funerary and domestic Neolithic and Copper
Age sites marked by stelae, statues, menhirs or
petroglyphs that ultimately define “traditional territories”
in use nearly up to the Iron Age (Barroso et al. 2007a;
2007b; García Sanjuan 2006).
Discussion on the effects of metallurgy in the social
organization of the end of the 4th and, mainly, of the
whole of the 3rd millennium cal BC is recurrent in the
Spanish and European archaeological literature, hence we
are not going to go into details on this subject, yet we find
that an analysis of the imagery may bring interesting
insights. Moreover, centring this debate on Megalithic Art
provides an increasingly solid contextual framework
(Bueno and Balbín 1998; 2000; 2003; 2006b), as the
relationship between funerary scenarios and anthro-

71
THE CREATIONS OF PLACES THROUGH THE DEPOSITIONS OF SIGNS AND METALWORK

Fig. 7.1. Location of the study areas. Relationship between the designs of decorated schist
plaques and those exhibited on megalithic orthostats: the map shows the location of tombs
displaying plaque-orthostats. Selected contour surveys and sections showing the setting of
stelae, statues and their surrounding archaeological contexts: burials and settlement areas:
Peñatú, Soalar and Sejos

72
 P. BUENO RAMIREZ ET AL.: METAL AND THE SYMBOLS OF ANCESTORS IN NORTHERN IBERIA
pomorphic representations adds very good references,
rendering the addition of metalwork as prestigious goods
in the funerary contexts of megalithism.
If the application of a funerary code to megaliths, between
the 5th and the 3rd millennia cal BC, can be followed in
vast areas of Iberia, being the southern region one of the
most widely documented (Bueno et al. 2004b), our present
study intends to be a starting point to accomplish similar
sequences in northern regions. The graphic imagery from
the tombs of the ancestors persist as an ideological
references to metallurgic societies in northern Iberia, who
kept on building megalithic monuments using a diversity
of architecture designs during the 3rd millennium cal BC,
as it happened in the remaining parts of Iberia.
On the light of these facts, the identification of complex
structures that include stelae and menhirs, sometimes
undecorated, though associated both with material
evidence from the 3rd millennium cal BC and megalithic
cemeteries, is another subject that future research should
analyse in greater detail.
The symbolic framework shows more continuities than
discontinuities, notwithstanding that its use is
progressively supported by specific social groups that
transform traditional imagery in actual justifications of
power based on the ideology of the Past. Individuals
featured in armed anthropomorphic representations are
the heirs of the ancestors (Bueno et al. 2005a: 635).
The association of these individuals with the actual
objects associated with the background of the earliest
metallurgy is of utmost interest, because, amongst other
things, the role they played in reinforcing the status of the
individual represented supports analytical perspectives
which highlight the importance of prestige goods.
Moreover, the physical counterparts of many of the types
featured in the graphic repertoire of weapon
representations have not been archaeologically recovered
in the study area.
If the presence of daggers is more common, the role of
hafted objects like halberds suggests the application of
new perspectives in the assessment of cultural relations
amongst the human groups under scrutiny, which
increasingly emerge as less marginal than previously
considered.
To speak about northern Iberia means recognizing the
existence of a variety of geographies that comprise
mountain areas, fertile valleys and river basins imbued
with great cultural significance as the Ebro or the Douro
valleys, just to mention two of the best known examples.
Above all, it requires an oblique perspective on an area
which has always been analysed on the basis of small-
scale samples which emphasised either “the
Mediterranean” or “the Atlantic” stances disregarding a
reality that more than separating brings together many of
the questions valued here.
73
The transitivity of these spaces is confirmed by ancient
references. On the one hand, the interaction role of the
Pyrenees passes is attested since the Palaeolithic, on the
other, the north/south relationship established along the
Meseta and, finally, the close relationship between the
north-west regions of Galicia and Portugal.
Therefore, to divide such a vast territory in three areas in
order to render our data has a geographical and cultural
meaning, confirmed by graphic connections. To the east,
the Pyrenees are much attached to the interaction with the
eastern Mediterranean from the earliest stages of the
Neolithic. In central regions, Asturias, Santander and the
Basque Country, Mediterranean connections are
facilitated, as well the access to the Meseta and
knowledge of the products from the west, not leaving
aside the relations with the Atlantic. It is difficult to
establish clear differences between these regions because
if the Mediterranean vocation of the Pyreneans seems
clear, so does the access to the Cantabrian valleys from
the majority of these sites – Soalar would be such an
example- which blurs strict divisions that are only used in
this study to facilitate the presentation of archaeological
evidence.
Lastly, the north-west of Iberia -Galicia and northern
Portugal- that shows some contrasting evidence in the
Portuguese area, aspect that needs to be valued in greater
detail for it brings to light wider connections with the
Meseta, which are more apparent than previously stated.
The inclusion of northern Meseta in this account
emphasises the relationship between the Douro territories
and the history of inland areas of Cantabria and Galicia,
suggesting a scenario in which the large interaction
capacity amongst populations from the northern and
southern parts of Iberia cannot ignored.
STATUES AND STELAE OF THE PYRENEAN-
MEDITERRANEAN CONTEXT
In more than one occasion, we referred to the presence of
decorated monuments in Cataluña and the role of
anthropomorphic figures associated with them (Bueno
and Balbín 2001: 58). Recent research undertaken by
Tarrús and his team, has been dealing with a number of
questions of the utmost interest to our proposal.
Firstly, the presence of decorated menhirs (Carreras et al.
2005) and their placement in cromlechs or complex
architectural structures some if which providing dates
from the 4th millennium cal BC (Tarrús et al. 2005).
Secondly, the occurrence of stelae and statues like the one
from Ca l’Estrada (Fortó et al. 2005) or from Preixana
(Duran i Sempere 1970).
The scenario defined by the collection of Cataluña
menhirs starts to suggest that they are largely associated
with megalithic cemeteries (Bueno and Balbín 2001:54;
THE CREATIONS OF PLACES THROUGH THE DEPOSITIONS OF SIGNS AND METALWORK
Tarrús 2002). The presence of engravings brings these
manifestations closer to more classic examples from the
West and values the recurrent association of objects and
anthropomorphic figures. In this case (Carreras et al.
2005), the double semicircular shapes featured on Palaus,
Castellruf and Can Tacó menhirs are interpreted as
representations of yoke plough.
Certainly the motif is not very common in the repertoire
of Iberian decorated menhirs. It is unusually large in size
and its form is morphologically very similar on those
three sites. We suggest that it corresponds to the
representation of a bow. This hypothesis could be
supported by other examples from northern Iberia, like
Longroiva, and from other European contexts, such as
some southern France stelae or those from Petit-Chasseur,
in Switzerland. Moreover, it can be argued that the
objects associated with Iberian anthropomorphic
representations are generally associated with warfare and
hunting. The analysis of Ca L’Estrada stelae and the
interesting parallels it provides with examples from
Rouergue brings us an additional argument, given that
some French statues actually display images of bows and
arrows (D’Anna 1977). Nevertheless, the interesting work
carried out by our colleagues leaves a door open to more
specific considerations on the clear connections between
these elements and megalithic contexts.
These authors also recovered a stone setting near the
hypogeum of Dos Rius (Tarrús et al. 2005), that show a
type of organization reminiscent of the ones described in
the Basque Country and Santander: a circle with 9m in
diameter and central menhirs. The cromlech of Pins
Rosers could be associated with a megalithic occupation
from the 4th and 3rd millennia cal BC if we take into
account the excavation data from a similar site at
L’Estanys (Tarrús 1993). Though, engravings have not
been detected on these menhirs.
Another site was recently excavated at Jonquera. Mas
Baleta II setting assembles almost one hundred menhirs
and there is evidence of a superimposition of more recent
funerary structures dated to the Late Bronze Age – Iron
Age to an older structure that the excavators date to the
3rd millennium cal BC (Tarrús and Carreras 2006).
Located in a large settlement area with artefacts dated to
different periods, the statue of Ca l’Estrada (Fortó et al.
2005) offers strong connections with French megalithism,
already noticed in Cataluña’s architectures (Tarrús et al.
1987:.235). The presence of elements from the Late
Neolithic-Copper Age is indicative of its chronological
span and suggests a possible settlement role attached to
this space, yet this idea needs to be ascertained in the
future.
Up to the present, there are only some photos published
on the site, thus we wait for the detailed tracings that may
allow a better evaluation of the questions posed by the
authors. A possible weapon is levelled with the hands of
74
the human figure reiterating the position of weapons in a
number of known stelae and statues from central-western
group (Bueno et al. 2005a: 612). The presence of cup-
marks in the area corresponding to the face reminds us of
similar solutions used both in examples from the north,
like Sejos, Tabuyo and Outeiro do Corno and, in the
south, on the stelae of Nossa Sra. da Esperança.
It is widely acknowledged that Preixana stelae should be
included in the assemblage of Bronze Age
anthropomorphic representations (Duran i Sempere 1970).
It seems plausible to establish a connection between this
stela and Italian examples based on the system of
representation of the head, and even more so if we
consider its proximity to the Durenque stela in southern
France, with a similar configuration (D’Anna 1977). The
bandage that crosses the stelae and the weapon hanging
from it show similarities with the Italian evidence, but
also provides geographically closer parallels with the
Longroiva stela, in Portugal (Bueno 1995:97).
Soalar sits in the junction between the Mediterranean and
the Pyrenees and, as mentioned above, is accessible from
the Cantabrian valleys, suggesting a more than plausible
presence of megalithic occupation in the Baztán valley,
which will end up defining more structured groups than
those presently known.
The large sample of menhirs in the Basque Country and
Navarra was readily analysed due to their association with
the megalithic tombs (Barandiarán and Vallespí 1980;
Peñalver 1983; Ruiz Cobo et al. 1993). The most
probable presence of engravings in many of these
examples (Bueno et al. 2005b:9) foretells very promising
and interesting perspectives concerning the inclusion of
this sector within the scope of groups of stelae and statues
producers in the south of Europe.
Soalar armed stela was casually discovered and, after
several circumstances, it is presently on display in the
Museo Oteiza de Elizondo (Bueno et al. 2005b:10). Its
original place is known for it was recorded in the
catalogue of Peñalver (1983:399). The stela was erected
on the edge of Soalar hill, occupying the best location to
control Baztán valley and, in turn, highly visible from
there. Close to its foundation we found archaeological
materials that suggest the presence of a settlement and, in
its surroundings, a remarkable cluster of megalithic tombs
reiterate the extensive occupation of this space dominated
by the imposing armed stelae.
Produced in Baztán sandstone, this monolith is almost 5m
high and has a flat section, which allows us to classify it
as a stela. It is only engraved and, possibly, painted in the
front although its three-dimensional conception extends
towards the edges (Bueno et al. 2005b:19). This is
solution finds parallels in other stelae-menhirs in south-
west Iberia (Gonçalves et al. 1997) revealing a shared
knowledge of the graphical guidelines across large areas
of southern Europe.
 P. BUENO RAMIREZ ET AL.: METAL AND THE SYMBOLS OF ANCESTORS IN NORTHERN IBERIA

Fig. 7.2.a. Armed statues and stelae. On the right, the northern group: Garabandal,
Tabuyo, Sejos, Monte da Laje (Bueno et alii 2005) and Outeiro do Corno (Fábregas
et al. 2004). On the left, the north-western group showing their individual place-names
(Bueno et alii 2005)

Fig. 7.2.b. Distribution maps showing the location of flat axes, halberds, and swords,
including their graphic representations. On the right, the example of a Palmela point
carved on the back slab of Katillextu 5
(photo gently provided by J.C. Lopez Quintana)

75
THE CREATIONS OF PLACES THROUGH THE DEPOSITIONS OF SIGNS AND METALWORK
Soalar exhibits an anthropomorphic outline like many
examples described as menhirs in the Basque Country and
Navarra. The pointed area corresponds to the head, where
a hood can be noted. It also displays the eyes and a snake
motif. The shape of the stone in the chest area forms two
circular protuberances very similar to those in the stelae
of Ermida, in northern Portugal. These graphic elements
may represent, possibly, leather armours like those known
from other Iberian stelae like Valdefuentes, Ataúdes o
Tremedal (Bueno et al. 2005a: 614).
In the light of this evidence, the idea, occasionally
expressed, that they correspond to female representations
loses weight in favour of warrior figures, which are abun-
dant in European Bronze Age contexts (Bradley, 1998).
Similarly to what has been documented on Preixana or
Longroiva stelae, an upright rectangular bandage crosses
the stone, itself representing the individual. The bandage
joins with the double horizontal belt that holds a large
hafted halberd, which is indeed the most visible element
in the stelae. A triangular blade with the lower edge
carved almost in bass-relief is attached to a large wood
haft with nearly 1m in length that occupies one third of
the stela in its lower section. With the blade oriented
towards the body of the figure, Soalar halberd is more
similar to the Valdefuentes of Sangusín’s, in Salamanca
(Santonja and Santonja 1978) and with some examples
from Alentejo schist slabs (Bueno et al. 2005a:621), than
to Tabuyo stela that shows the blade oriented towards the
outside of the body despite its placement on the right hand
side of the figure. More specifically, the halberd of S.
Juan de Negrilhos slab not only has the blade in a similar
position but also the same length and the ‘in button’ finish
of the handle.
The same happens with the bandage that is arranged at
Soalar, Longroiva and Preixana in the same manner as on
Sta. Vitória stela, in Beja, associated with a cist with
argarian material (Almagro 1966: 42) and in which a
sword and an halberd are hanged from the stripe.
The small shield or solar motif engraved below the
halberd’s blade, as well as the motifs in bass relief in the
lower area (Bueno et al. 2005b: 22), recall south-western
graphic assemblages, establishing an extremely
interesting relation for this area of Iberia (Bueno et al.,
2005b: 24).
As mentioned above, this site is located in a vast
megalithic area. Several tombs sit along a mountain ridge
towards the higher ground, and are accompanied by at
least another stela (Bueno et al. 2005b:29) and stone
settings. Some of them may be later in the Pyrenean
regional sequence, others are earlier (Blot 1989), which
indicates a long time span for these structures as recent
dates start to attest.
Armed stelae like Soalar might have headed funerary and
domestic spaces during the 3rd millennium cal BC hence
76
preserving a certain degree of memory in later moments
given the long-term use of Pyrenean cromelechs, which
chronologies ascend to the 1st millennium cal BC (Blot
1989).
The argument that Soalar marks the emergence of a novel
way of investigating the region’s megalithism is
confirmed by the recent discovery of a decorated
monument in Katilletxu necropolis, in Vizcaya, by Juan
Carlos Quintana team. On a mountain range above
Mundaka, this assemblage comprises five structures with
distinct ground plans, commanding a spectacular view
over the Guernika Ria. One of the structures -tomb 5-
displays, on the backslab, an engraved representation of a
Palmela point, internally pecked and abraded. It is very
interesting to note that this tomb shows an internal
organization featured in other Iberian burial contexts,
given that a stela placed inside the chamber reiterates the
significant role of this imagery. Although the site is still
under excavation, the character of the decoration of this
tomb indicates a considerable, yet still unknown potential
of these areas for research.
CANTABRIAN STATUES AND STELAE
Peña Tú is another extremely important reference in the
memory of prehistoric populations of Sierra Plana
(Barroso et al. 2007a), manifesting the enduring
capability of the images of the ancestors and megalithic
ritual in vast areas of southern Europe.
The relationship between the decorated outcrop and the
megalithic assemblage, where cists predominate,
emphasises our proposal about Soalar that monumental
armed stelae preside to cemeteries and, very probably, to
domestic areas (Arias and Pérez 1990).
In a rock shelter to the East of the monumental natural
outcrop, the carved and painted stela was depicted on the
most appropriate panel of the rock surface (Bueno et al.
2005a:593), notably adapting to it and thus placed
towards the right hand side. The debate around the
dagger/idol association (Balbín 1989) can be relegated in
the light of the archaeological evidence from Sejos. This
site proposes, together with Tabuyo, Outeiro do Corno,
Monte da Laje and maybe Garabandal, that these stelae
reach their apogee in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC
alongside the emergence of metalwork associated with
Bell Beakers and the Argaric contexts (Bueno 1995: 94).
This results from a long-term graphic development in
which northern Iberian decorated orthostats stand as the
best example (Bueno et al. 2005a).
The landscape distribution of caves used as burial places
supports the idea that their transitivity was marked by the
presence of this armed stela which remained as a
reverential site, as it is demonstrated by its degree of
conservation before it was overlaid by modern car-
vings.
 P. BUENO RAMIREZ ET AL.: METAL AND THE SYMBOLS OF ANCESTORS IN NORTHERN IBERIA
The association between Peña Tú and an extensive
megalithic area finds parallels at Sejos. It is the first
clomelech with decorated statue-menhirs documented in
Cantabria (Bueno et al. 1985) suggesting that, together
with the records from Cataluña, País Vasco and Navarra,
these assemblages will end up revealing issues that are
similar to those applied to Portuguese menhirs.
Excavation uncovered the sockets of at least four of a
group of five standing stones and a detailed analysis
allowed the observation of carvings on two of them: one
exhibits a more simple composition whilst the other
seems more complex. The latter includes a dagger very
similar to that at Peña Tú, providing a date for the
monument within the 3rd millennium BC. Minor stone
settings have been identified in its environs, one of which
includes a stone carved with an anthropomorphic motif.
Our excavation did not reveal any evidence in their
internal spaces.
However, the presence of artefacts in the filling of the
sockets provides arguments to suppose the existence of a
domestic area nearby. In the vicinities, Hitón menhir
(Bueno et al. 1985) and some of the dolmens reiterate
similar relationships to those envisaged at Soalar and
Peña Tú in which highly visible locations, presided by
armed stelae, perform long-term references assemb-
ling dolmens, settlement areas and more recent
cromelechs.
Also Garabandal (Saro and Teira1992), a stela-plaque
engraved on a natural outcrop together with a metal blade
(Bueno 1995:94), presides to a megalithic cemetery on
which we do not hold much data at present.
The interesting concentration of sites dating from the
Mesolithic to the Iron Age in Peña Oviedo (Diez Castillo
1997) consolidates the central idea of this paper. Peña
Oviedo is one of the most revealing assemblages in
Cantabria, with a Mesolithic occupation in Calvera rock
shelter, huts and dolmens providing C14 dates within the
5th and 4th millennium cal BC, Copper Age evidence and
an interesting stone alignment that could have integrated
Calvera stela.
When this stela was recovered it already had been
displaced and collapsed over one of the huts excavated by
Diez Castillo (1997: 317), as it possibly headed an
alignment of stelae about which there is no further
information at present.
The sandstone monolith is 1,40m in height and shows a
semicircular end very similar to Sejos stela and to the one
described by Menendez (1931) which disappeared soon
afterwards it was found inside one of the tombs at Peña
Tú and it also recalls examples from San Martin dolmen
(Barandiarán and Fernández 1964). Moreover, the
presence of stelae and statues in the earliest megaliths is
confirmed by Larrarte stelae or that from Collá Cimera
(Bueno and Balbín 1996:45).
77
The upper circular edge was carved in bass relief obtained
through scraping out the lower area. The salient part was
remarkably polished, using a similar technique to that on
Katilletxu 5 stela, producing a quern-like shape, which
may be deliberate if we take into account the association
of anthropomorphic monoliths and querns in south-west
Iberia. Riomalo statue was shaped on a grinding stone
(Cuadrado, 1974) as well as Cegonhas menhir (Cardoso et
al. 1995), two pieces that may be inserted within the
chronological span of our study (Bueno et al. 2005a).
Calvera alignment relates with structures composed of
several menhirs and stelae, evidence that is increasingly
abundant in the region (Diez and Ruiz 1993).
Similar anthropomorphic references in the north-western
sector attest the strong symbolic relations across these
areas in the megalithic period. The specialisation of north-
western regions in open air backdrops, either horizontal or
upright, adds an element to the placement of monoliths,
suggesting that petroglyphs can also be stela-like
representations enclosing anthropomorphic meaning
(Bueno et al. 2005a).
The remaining monoliths known from the Cantabrian
region display broad shapes, semicircular or pointed
heads, as Ruanales panel-stela or those from Peña
Lostroso and Portillo (Teira and Ontañón 1997), with the
interest that their situation is closer to that of petroglyphs
due to the preference for the use of panel-stelae. The
possible occurrence of an halberd at Peña Lostroso may
put it in parallel with Soalar stela, coinciding also in terms
of the blade’s orientation.
STATUE AND STELAE IN THE NORTH-
WESTERN REGION
Galicia and northern Portugal convey an outstanding
number of engraved and painted megaliths that announce
the symbolic power of the images related with the cult of
the ancestors.
The character of its open air carvings elevated Galicia as a
major example in the Atlantic context. Without too much
emphasis on such a well-known reality provided with
recent and interesting research (Fábregas 2001; Peña and
Rey 2001), it may be important to recall our earlier
premise that considers petroglyphs as panel-stelae (Bueno
et al. 2005a), occasionally found armed. Under this
category we could assemble many well-known examples
that offer close associations with megaliths (Villoch
1995) and domestic areas, like Os Moguëlos panel-stela
located in the vicinities of O Fixón settlement (Suárez
1993:58).
This relationship is well documented in other areas of
Iberia, where painted and carved outcrops sit at the edge
of settled territories from the end of the 4th but mainly
during the 3rd millennium cal BC (Bueno et al. 1998).
THE CREATIONS OF PLACES THROUGH THE DEPOSITIONS OF SIGNS AND METALWORK
Indeed Conxo, Coto dos Mouros, Laxe das Ferraduras and
Agua da Laxe are some of the panel-stelae that reiterate
the anthropomorph-weapon relationship in the above
mentioned Cantabrian stelae. In addition, the preference
for axes, halberds and daggers provides arguments for an
absolute temporal overlap of the several types of armed
figures in northern Iberia.
The recent discovery of Outeiro do Corno panel-stela
(Fábregas et al. 2004), confirms our hypothesis and attests
obvious relationships between the different types of
support.
Their graphic connexions with earlier imagery are attested
at Orca da Cunha Baixa dolmen, on the capstone of
Dolmen de Pendilhe (Leisner 1998: taf.26) and in the
stela from Dolmen 4 of Alto das Madorras (Sanches and
Nunes 2004). On the latter, a trapezoidal plaque featuring
the eyes is accompanied by a circle and another
rectangular plaque internally divided in sections showing
a rounded apical area and a set of concentric circles.
Although the transference of meaning to the petroglyph’s
rock settings could explain the shortage of statuary,
increasingly abundant evidence from megaliths in the
northern region, suggest that this reality will certainly be
widely extended.
The megalithic orthostats-stelae characterised by their
geometric vestments have a long span in Galician burial
contexts, featuring in funerary cists dated to the 3rd and
2nd millennium cal BC (Fábregas y Penedo 1993) in
which earlier monoliths might have been reused, as
Bradley (2004) points out about some examples from the
British Isles, emphasising the profound value attached to
the images of the ancestors.
In these small-scale architectures, orthostat-stelae do not
exhibit carvings of weapons yet, on the grounds of related
archaeological evidence, burial deposits suggest that the
deceased might have used prestige goods for ostentation.
This prevalence of rectangular motifs in cists dated to the
1st millennium cal BC, as it is demonstrated by the carved
stela from Casinha Derribada (Cruz et al. 1998), re-
affirms the ideological endurance of the ancestor’s
images.
There are also references to groups of small stelae,
classified as cromelechs by Maciñeira (1929), which may
be stone settings similar to those currently known from
northern Portugal, Cataluña and Cantabria. Gargantans
(Bueno and Balbín, 1995), Pedra Ficada and Olveira
menhirs, the latter sitting close to Dolmen de Axeitos,
allow us to foresee an increase in the number of such
findings.
The first difference we ought to establish with Portugal is
that painted Schematic Art has been documented to the
south of the Minho valley (Bradley y Fábregas 1999),
78
evidence that is still unknown in Galicia, although this
region holds abundant examples of painted and carved
megaliths. This feature brings evidence from northern
Portugal closer to the Spanish Meseta, where Schematic
paintings also occur (Gómez Barrera 2005).
In recent years, research on megalithism in northern
Portugal has been most prolific and, as far as the subject
of this paper is concerned, there are a number of
interesting issues for discussion.
On the one hand, there are panel-stelae such as Monte da
Laje (Silva and Cunha 1987), which anthropomorphic
references allow its association with the Cantabrian
group, confirming, if need be, the strong interaction
amongst the whole of the northern fringes of Iberia. Its
relationship with a cluster of megalithic monuments
brings, in ideological terms, both types of evidence closer
together. It also confirms the hypothesis that, as far as
factual visibility, i.e. in conspicuous places, or consensual
visibility, on ground level, are concerned, the reference to
armed anthropomorphs reveals the same intrinsic value.
Stelae and statue-menhirs enjoy a wide level of
representation, perhaps the widest in the whole of Iberia,
and manifest a long term graphic course which cuts across
the Bronze Age and stands as the graphic foundation for
subsequent representations (Jorge and Jorge 1993). Ca-
parrosa stela-menhir, in Beira Alta (Gomes and Monteiro
1977) should be inserted in this context for it reproduces
figurative schemes such as head and well defined
shoulders, which recall some of the evidence documented
in Cantabria and Galicia (Bueno et al. 2005b: 9).
Halberds, daggers and swords suggest links with the
south-west group of stelae, particularly with the Alentejo
series, as well as with pieces like the Salamanca’s statues,
in which armours, helmets, bandages, belts and weapons
are attached to individuals exhibiting their power or that
of their lineage (Bueno et al. 2005a:634).
The association of these figures with megaliths becomes
slightly diluted if we attend to the Portuguese assemblage
of stelae and statues, although Serra Boulhosa makes it
clear that the relationship between armed stelae or statues
and megaliths is to be found in the whole of the northern
region. Serra Boulhosa stela-menhir has been recently re-
assessed (Bueno et al. 2005a:604). Despite being broken
in its lower part, it measures 1m in length. Its pointed
head with the eyes marked and a snake-like represen-
tation. Its cloak, belt and the presence of a weapon figure,
provides striking parallels with Soalar (Bueno et al.
2005b).
Alongside the armed examples we mentioned, northern
Portugal offers assemblages of stelae and menhirs from
the 4th and 3rd millennium cal BC that overemphasise the
occurrence of antropomorphic images in visible places,
often associated with funerary evidence or settlement
areas.
 P. BUENO RAMIREZ ET AL.: METAL AND THE SYMBOLS OF ANCESTORS IN NORTHERN IBERIA
The alignments or stone settings of Cabeço da Mina
(Sousa 1997), S. Cristovão, recently identified by E.J.L.
da Silva (2003: 275) and those in the vicinities of
Cemitério dos Mouros settlement, in Trás-os-Montes
(Sanches e Nunes 2004), are complex assemblages that
shall include decorated stones. In the light of our present
knowledge on Cabeço da Mina, we postulate a graphic
connexion with the central-western group (Bueno et al.
2005a:.613), thus emphasising the strong relationships
amongst territories between the Tagus and the Douro
basins already suggested by Ph. Kalb (1987). In this
sense, the actual concentration of ‘south-west stelae’ to
the north of the Tagus valley -Foios, Meimão, S.
Martinho I and II o Cachão de Algarve (Senna-Martínez
and Melo 2004: 42)- reinforces the idea of the earlier and
strong connections during Late Prehistory.
There are two different arrangements at S. Cristovão, one
provides evidence from the Bronze Age and Iron Age,
similar to the Tera alignment in the south of Portugal
(Rocha 2003) and the other, San Cristovão II, sits in the
vicinities of the former and is currently under excavation.
Both arrangements sit in an area where six megalithic
structures have been identified (Silva 2003: 275).
It should be emphasised that one of the stelae from
Cabeço da Mina exhibits bandages crossed at chest
height, a T-shaped face and a wide-length belt which
recall Villar del Ala stela, from Soria. Moreover, the
depiction of arms, necklaces and belts bring these pieces
closer to those from Cáceres, Badajoz and Salamanca, as
well as to the graphic representations on decorated
plaques from the south-west, in their sculptural facet
(Bueno 1992).
The possible alignments in the Mirandela region are
inserted in a long-term megalithic tradition that includes
stelae from mound 4 of Alto das Modorras-Pópulo,
mound 1 of Castelo (Sanches and Nunes 2004) and that
from Orca da Cunha Baixa, which shows particularly
clear affinities with plaques-stelae from Cantabria (Vilaça
and Cruz 1990).
Stelae like A da Moura (Silva 2000) or Alto da Escrita
(Carvalho et al. 1999), belonging to the central-western
group, reinforce the existence of a knot of relationships
between the Tagus and the Douro regions but also to
confirm that their association with weapons is a recurrent
element that helps to recognize the prestige of the
individual or idea represented. The similarity between
Ataúdes knife and Tremedal statue, in Salamanca,
highlights iconographic variability in the 3rd millennium
cal BC., as the expression of a strong degree of interaction
between Iberian metallurgic communities. The presence
of sheath is a detail that brings these figures closer to
those depicted in Tabuyo or Longroiva, stressing the
variability we have been stating.
Longroiva stela exhibits a bow, dagger, belt and bandage.
Although its precise context is unknown, the graphic
79
connexions that it allow us to establish with the examples
described above, provides arguments to suggest its pos-
sible association with an assemblage of megalithic tombs.
STATUES AND STELAE IN NORTHERN MESETA
The integration of the Douro basin in the description of
the northern assemblage conveys the close topographic
and cultural relationship between coastline areas and the
hinterland throughout History, as well as the straightfor-
ward connexions with southern Iberia via the Tagus basin
and the access through the mountain passes of central
Iberia.
Across the Cantabrian mountain range sits Tabuyo del
Monte’s stela, currently on display in the Museum of
Léon. The central motif, with cup-marks in the face area
like stela 1 of Sejos, Outeiro do Corno and the Portuguese
stelae from Crato and Nossa Sra da Esperança, is depicted
alongside an halberd and a hafted dagger. The halberd is
unique in the collection of plaques-stelae in the
Cantabrian region, as well as the representation of the
dagger’s haft. However, its style of representation shows
greater parallels to halberds depicted in Galician
petroglyphs, confirming the close relationship between all
these figures, reiterated by Outeiro do Corno.
The Tabuyo stela echoes the style of panel-stelae
documented in Ruanales and Peña Lostroso and also
brings arguments to support the existence of close bounds
amongst the groups settled on either side of the
Cantabrian Mountains. This is the case of Peña del Buitre,
in the Cuenca region (Bueno et al. 1998), which reflects a
similar variability during the 3rd millennium cal BC. to
that observed in the Cantabrian groups.
Its distinctive sculptural style coincides with that of
Valdefuentes’ statues and Tremendal in Salamanca as
well as with the famous example from Villar del Ala, in
Soria. The latter, together with some examples from
northern Portugal, reflect a clear Italian influence:
prominent heads, fusiform body, representation of armour
and, occasionally, chestplates – Ermida, Soalar – and
knee protections – Valdefuentes, Tremedal. Villar del Ala
monolith does not display a trapezoidal pendent or
chestplate though it exhibits the upper union where the
pendent would adjust, similarly to the statue from Nave
(Cruz et al. 2000:257).
Adding this evidence to the representation of weapons,
both on the sides of the statue and suspended from the
neck, conforms the most classical style of Italian statuary.
This configures a wide system of representation given that
statues of Lusitanian warriors from the north-western
“castros”, i.e. Iron Age hilltop settlements, or similar
evidence from hinterland regions, reiterate this model to
the limit, providing that even earlier examples were
reused, as it could be the case of Villar del Ala statue,
from Soria.
THE CREATIONS OF PLACES THROUGH THE DEPOSITIONS OF SIGNS AND METALWORK
This well-known statue that can easily be included within
the scope of Bronze Age statuary (Bueno 1991, 1995;
Romero 1981), yet, a closer look into its lower area
demonstrates that it exhibits a trapezoidal motif that could
indicate the presence of garments similar to those
identified on stelae from southern France. This evidence
added to the depiction of two hafted weapons carved in
light bass relief, allow us to consider the hypothesis that
the present layout of this monolith corresponds to
secondary interventions, produced after its primary use.
Again, the presence of examples belonging to the central-
western group like Los Santos or those from Ciudad
Rodrigo, emphasise the primacy of the Tagus-Douro
corridor.
METALWORK AND METALLURGY IN
NORTHERN IBERIA IN THE 3rd MILLENNIUM BC
Although it is not easy to portray a general picture on a
subject – metallurgy – which in-depth knowledge has
only been building up over recent years, it still may be
useful to make an approach to contexts and typologies
that attest the existence of complex scenarios involving
the earliest metallurgy, with both dating evidence and
symbolic connotations matching classical accounts, as it
is demonstrated by the relationship between halberds and
prominent antropomorphic representations.
The identification of an increasing number of materials
and mineralisations is changing the traditional stand of a
technologically unqualified and inconspicuous metallurgy
in the north, deeply contrasting with the evidence from
southern Iberia, and consequently implying the
assumption of its cultural delay.
The mineral characteristics of the former area in relation
to manufactured products, with peculiar high percentages
of nickel in the Basque Country (Montero y Rodríguez
1997), adding to the archaeological evidence that attest
the entire process of metalwork production, provide
arguments for the existence of metallurgical activities, at
a local scale, in the whole of the northern region
(Comendador 1998: 247; Ontañón 2002: 98; Martín et al.
1999:165; Rodríguez 2005: 63). Furthermore, there are
exceptional evidence for extractive activities, which is
hardly preserved, given the example of Asturian mines
(Blas 1989), and the use of simple methods of
transformation and production using furnace vessels and
crucibles, as well as the recurrently scarce production
elements – the Ebro valley moulds, for instance – dating
from early periods (Rodríguez 2005: 25).
On marginal areas of the Asturian group, extending to the
northern fringes of the Meseta, the often argued scarcity
of minerals has been undermined by the recovery and
finding of numerous accessible sources which, although
small and dispersed, might have been sufficient to cover
local and regional demands. The uneven balance of the
80
records regarding metalwork and copper sources, or the
similarities between artefacts and minerals analytically
attested in Galicia (Comendador 1998: 227), show that
the diversity of resources is not compatible with the large-
scale circulation of raw materials and objects. This cannot
be grounded on the absence of minerals, since it is not a
process attached to, or exclusively concerned with metal
for it is known within the scope of raw materials for lithic
artefacts, as it is attested by the tabular flint used in the
production of Garma’s dagger blade (Ontañón 2002: 87).
Arguing for a degree of conservatism is not the same as
speaking of technological immobility hence we cannot
assume the existence of chronological gaps between
different regions neither in terms of the emergence of
metallurgy, nor in the incorporation of alloys. On the one
hand there are dates from the beginning of the 3rd
millennium a.C. (Comendador 1998: 247; Blas 1999a: 47)
that may be related to Neolithic exploitations if we value
the idea that in Asturian mines, like Gáva, the extraction
process made use of mining tools used in the 4th
millennium a.C. (Martín et al. 1999a:159). On the other
hand, the same arguments may explain the early presence
of bronze artefacts not only in Galicia (Comendador1998:
233), where tin is abundant, but also in other areas of
Cantabria (Blas 1999b:57) and in the north-east where the
absence of this metal has always be assumed. At present,
we know that it occurs in polimetallic sources in the
region (Martín et al. 1999:165) and Cataluña provides an
excellent example at La Bauma del Serrat del Pont of one
of the earliest dates in Iberia for copper-tin alloys
(Alcalde et al. 2001).
Metal stands alongside other raw materials in terms of its
character of innovation which is the essence for its
development. In reality, metalwork objects are inspired in
lithic or bone artefacts, partly explaining its traditional
character, which is also apparent at a graphic level, and
the narrow morphological variability of metalwork since a
small amount of types seemed sufficient to fulfil the
intended functional role or social prestige.
This question is especially interesting since it has been
stressed, in several occasions, that the earliest metalwork
would have fulfilled a primary social role, instead of
being simply functional (Comendador 1998: 248;
Rodríguez 2005: 110). Its character could not be more
graphic as it is perceptible from the size of some dagger
representations, which are larger than the objects
themselves, or their exaggerated proportions in relation to
the individual that holds them, such as in the well-known
petroglyph of Pedra das Ferraduras. Thus, to make an
approach to both graphic metalwork and material
metalwork brings important questions to the subject we
are dealing in this paper, yet we should not discard the
fact that investigation on symbolic realms does not
convey strict morphological classifications.
Tools and weapons constitute the main assemblage of the
region’s metalwork, together with ornaments, which are
 P. BUENO RAMIREZ ET AL.: METAL AND THE SYMBOLS OF ANCESTORS IN NORTHERN IBERIA
more characteristics of the north-west. The latter are
frequently in gold and silver, contrasting with the former,
which are produced of bronze and copper. Awls, axe
heads, daggers, Palmela points, halberds and swords, are
the most characteristic types. They conform to a narrow
range of variability and enclose spatial discrepancies
which are difficult to examine in the light of the present-
day increasing inventory.
A general map of findings shows a large percentage of
western metal in relation to the opposite third, which, for
instance, in the case of Cantabria is related with resource
potential (Ontañón 2003:98). The graphic assemblage
reproduces a similar framework, yet it helps
understanding some blank areas since morphological
similarities between metalwork objects from Cataluña and
France (Martín et al. 1999:157) suggest a relation of
proximity manifested in stelae like Ca l’Estrada.
This western predominance is highlighted by the number
of plain axes, most of which made of copper, yet their
analysis should rest not only on the issue of
quantification, but also attend to the large quantities of
metal encapsulated in some of these pieces, or the
concentration of some hoards as, for instance, the
Asturian deposits. Nevertheless, their graphic
representation in Galicia is very small (Peña and Rey
2001:178).
If we value the fact that axes are replaced by halberds and
swords in antropomorphic representations (Bueno et al.
2005: 619), it may reveal that weapon carvings on
petroglyphs reached their highest expression from the
middle of the 3rd millennium cal BC. onwards, equalling
the evolution process we suggest for the statuary. The fact
that in distinctive assemblages, such as the Argaric, the
most desired prestige goods, halberds, swiftly replaced
axes (Lull 1983: 187), adds arguments to this hypothesis.
Their concentration towards western regions is more
apparent in the case of halberds attending to the evidence
from Trás-os-Montes in relation to other examples from
northern Meseta and more distant others like the halberd
from Leiro hoard. Their number increases when we
consider their graphic counterparts, providing that
halberds are frequent in Galician petroglyphs and are
represented in Longroiva and Tabuyo stelae, evidence that
directly reinforces the Carrapatas group. In the north-east,
halberds are exceptional items however, adding up recent
findings and the reinterpretation of stelae like Lostroso
and Soalar we may reach effective knowledge of such
records, despite the absence of actual representations. The
optimisation of metal can take different routes like that of
their contexts, occasional findings or deposits (Delibes et
al. 1999: 177), which provide interesting questions to
discuss the symbolism of graphic expressions.
Drawing once more on Soalar stela, and despite Navarra
has occasionally been overlooked (Delibes and Montero
1999), there have been a number of findings of metalwork
81
around Bardenas and Aralar areas (Montero y Rodríguez
1997), where archaeological research has concentrated in
recent years. The assemblage is dominated by simple and
small-sized objects, awls and points, with rare daggers
and a total absence of halberds, which adds an ever more
distinctive character to that represented on Soalar stela
and to its social value.
The same question applies to swords which are usually
divided into two groups, the northern group and the
southern group, provided with both common and
particular features (Blasco et al. 2002: 186). The latter
group, closely related with El Argar, is wealthier and
includes numerous representations, like those featured on
Alentejo stelae. However, in the northern area, the
absence of swords towards north-eastern regions, like
Cataluña and Levante, collides with emblematic
representations such as Preixana’s. As far as the
quantification of metalwork is concerned, the number of
swords does not reach fifteen items, there are depictions
of swords on seven statues/stelae, adding up to a similar
number of open air panels carved with daggers and short
swords (Peña y Rey 2001:177).
IMAGES OF POWER IN NORTHERN IBERIA
This brief account considers the increasingly broad
presence of anthropomorphic representations within
megalithic landscapes in northern Iberia. Its distinctive
association with metalwork also offers a number of
matters for reflection that we have been discussing in this
paper.
There is no doubt that the earliest chronologies for
megaliths in northern Iberia, either in Cataluña (Cura and
Vilardell 1996), Cantabria (Diez 1997; Blas 1999b),
northern Meseta (Delibes and Rojo 1997) or in the north-
west (Carrera and Fábregas 2002; Cruz 1995), indicate
their development from the 5th millennium cal BC. This is
why we see with great interest the relationship between
armed stelae and assemblages of megalithic tombs, for
they attest the long-term ideological course of their
builders, substantiating the idea that metalwork is
attached to traditional representations as a prestige good
in the 3rd millennium cal BC.
Peña Tú, Sejos, Soalar, Peña Oviedo, alongside a large
number of examples from Galicia and Portugal, to which
Cataluña’s record are linked with greater strength,
confirm the long prevalence of northern Iberian
megalithism which is very similar to what this system of
connection with the ancestors enjoy throughout Atlantic
Europe (O’Brien 2002), from its earliest to the most
recent moments.
The recurrent association with antropomorphic
personalities situated in isolated areas, places special
value upon the appropriation of natural landscapes
imbued with cultural references, as Bradley already
THE CREATIONS OF PLACES THROUGH THE DEPOSITIONS OF SIGNS AND METALWORK
stressed (1997). In Iberia, particularly in the north, these
landscapes cannot be defined exclusively by their factual
visibility, as the location of Peña Tú could suggest if we
take it as a model. The weight of tradition and the
knowledge of places must have played an equal or even
more important role than visibility, argument that is
critical but can be blurred by paleoenvironmental
reconstructions attesting the vegetation growth than that
remaining at present. The most important aspects seem to
be both tradition and a consensus over a the territory
defined by symbols, as it is demonstrated by the location
of panel-stelae that, due to their horizontal position, recall
those from rock art assemblages along the Douro, Tagus
and Guadiana valleys (Bueno et al. 2004a).
Thus, the concentration of megaliths, settlement areas and
decorated panels in the areas described above, provides
evidence to support the premise that these regions are
claimed by means of armed stelae during the 3rd
millennium cal BC. using the reference of the ancestors as
images of power, now armed with metal weapons, instead
of axes and schist croziers (Bueno et al. 2005a: 619). The
graphic and symbolic origins of anthropomorphic figures
in many megaliths across Iberia, provides arguments to
suggest the transference of meanings and its adaptation to
novel prestige items, in this case, metalwork.
If we compare northern Iberia’s armed stelae and statues
with those documented in the south, it does not seem to
be such a clear difference that could be able to justify the
existence of profound discrepancies in the development of
the earliest metallurgy in those areas. On the contrary, the
presence of weapons alongside prominent individuals in
the north reinforces the perspective that states that the
earliest expressions of metallurgy are strikingly linked to
ostentation and, in fact, these examples are more abundant
in northern areas. Here, megalithic tomb builders revealed
a stronger ability for ideological coercion than that
envisaged by traditional research.
The variability that we have been mentioning is evident,
but it is also clear that the different types of background
do not affect graphic assemblage. Graphic expressions of
the Peña Tú type were produced in rock shelters, and in
this case also associated with paintings (Bueno et al.,
2005a:593), on stelae-menhir that are part of statuary
assemblages, on individual stelae or open air rock
outcrops, but always located in territories with wide-scale
megalithic occupation.
The acknowledgement of a megalithic foundation of this
group does not collide with the evidence for its strong
establishment during the 3rd millennium cal BC.
suggesting that, whether they are accompanied with
weapons or not, the large majority of these pieces can be
included in that period of time. One argument that
supports this hypothesis is the binary association between
armed and non-armed stelae. This is the case of Sejos and
Monte da Laje that, we believe, provide links with the
pairs of figures occurring on megalithic orthostats in
82
which one is larger than the other: Orca dos Juncais could
be a good example. The idea that these armed or unarmed
stelae belong to the same period collides with
interpretations that emphasise hierarchical issues. These
attempted to highlight the value or prestige of an
individual in relation to the one that stands alongside him.
It can be applied to those assemblages of menhirs in
which only selected monoliths are decorated, usually
those occupying central positions (Bueno and Balbín
2006a).
The relationship between the provenance areas of these
examples, Peña Tú, Sejos, Tabuyo and the best-suitable
passes connecting northern and southern parts of Iberia, is
a matter of interest to approach issues about their
interaction with south-eastern megalithic builders to who
decorated plaques and star-shaped figures played an
important role. To correlate this evidence with the
traditional agricultural life-style is most suggestive, yet it
is not easy to ascertain this kind of hypothesis when
paleoeconomic data is not clear-cut. It is nonetheless
certain the northern provenance of some raw materials,
like Valencia de Alcántara´s jet (Bueno 1988:175) hence,
emphasising wide scale interaction systems between
northern and southern Iberia adds up the graphic
component to already discussed ergologic arguments.
It is apparent a similar variability of settings in north-
western stelae (Bueno et al. 2005a:628). Both on panel-
stelae and sculptures, elongated shapes with semi-circular
or pointed ends attest a graphic continuum from
megalithism, as it is the case of Boulhosa, up to more
recent periods. Soalar suggests that, in a similar manner
as stelae of the Peña Tú type, many of them played a role
in the symbolic visibility of long-term megalithic
assemblages.
The influence of French stelae is apparent in Ca l’Estrada,
yet it is also clear in southern Iberia stelae, particularly
Toconal and Asquerosa. Archaeological evidence for
interchange between the south and the Atlantic points
towards the existence of long distance connections in the
context of which stelae might have played a role in
symbolic scenarios. These may manifest, on the one hand,
regional developments and, on the other, the knowledge
of elements from other areas.
The presence of stelae that may be attributed to the
central-western group, predominantly from the north of
the Tagus valley, give emphasis to questions on the
dynamics of interchange and interaction that have been
documented in archaeological contexts in recent years.
Assemblages of menhirs such as those from Cataluña, the
Basque Country, Cantabria or northern Portugal may be
included in these dynamics. They manifest a greater
complexity then that traditionally admitted and, over the
next few years, it will allow us to achieve very interesting
results, like the incorporation of evidence from the eastern
coast of Iberia.
 P. BUENO RAMIREZ ET AL.: METAL AND THE SYMBOLS OF ANCESTORS IN NORTHERN IBERIA
Statues, stelae, menhirs and decorated outcrops allow us
to propose an aggregation model of populations that
combines settlement areas and funerary monuments
presided by anthropomorphic images, which may have,
on occasion, Mesolithic origins (Diez Castillo 1997). The
respect for the memory of the ancestors benefits of a long
span, and the confluence of more recent structures like
Sejo, Peña Oviedo and Soalar stone settings adds to the
use of natural caves in the 1st millennium to confirm that
this memory assures the maintenance of the settlement of
human groups in the same territories. Their identification
as traditional territories suits its permanent use and, above
all, matches the idea that the ideological justification used
by its inhabitants is bounded by long-term consuetudinary
recognition that does not change much until later stages in
the Iron Age.
This does not imply considering cultural immobility,
rather to value the ideology of symbols as the justification
of a strategy of appropriation of land that was first
claimed by agriculturalist groups and that, gradually,
ended up composing systems of identification and,
perhaps also, contemplating rights of passage and use.
The armed images of the ancestors transmitted both the
coercion of the past and that of chiefs with real capability
of aggression over anyone who infringes the limits
defined by land rights.
In northern Iberia there are datable examples of geometric
patterns that portray the vests of ancestors, data that help
confirming our premises. They were either reused or
produced for the occasion and are associated with burial
cists with archaeological evidence dated to the 3rd
millennium cal BC. (Fábregas and Penedo 1993). This
practice is followed in small-sized stelae associated with
tombs provided of inconspicuous internal structures dated
to the 2nd millennium cal BC. (Cruz et al. 1998).
The history of these decorations points towards two types
of conceptual evolution: the first one is concerned with
the scenarios of death drawn with megaliths, in which
geometric designs almost entirely invade tomb’s
orthostats. It evolves towards the architectural syncretism
of cists, some of which preserve their geometric
decoration, reaching a conceptual synopsis in the small-
sized stelae that maintain, in later tombs, the earliest
geometric tradition displayed in megalithic tomb’s
orthostats.
The second relates with the antropomorphic figures that
play a most prominent role in megaliths and evolve
towards sculptured representations increasingly more
diverse, overlapping meanings from the funerary domain
and transferring the sceneries of the ancestors to the daily
sceneries of metallurgical groups. Stelae and statues,
despite their graphic and ideological variability, express
the evolution of ideological contents of collective
character towards a more limited sphere concerned with
the individual or clan. The latter contributed to the
definition of the first strategies of social hierarchy.
83
The variability of styles as far as statues are concerned,
reflects the interaction with other European regions, also
attested by archaeological evidence, which coincides with
the strong economic intensification in the 3rd millennium
cal BC. Relations with southern France are apparent in
Iberian stelae and statues, but also the similarities with
Breton examples or, southwards, with Italy, manifesting
the reality of groups with an outstanding ability for
interaction, possibly due to the wealth of Iberian metal
resources.
Acknowledgments
We maintain a fluid relation with J. Tarrús and we own
him the information on Mas Baleta and his interesting
comments about the evidence from Cataluña. To Hilarriak
and L. Millán we need to express our thanks for the
knowledge on Soalar. To Patrimonio de Navarra and
Ayuntamiento de Elizondo we own their support during
fieldwork. We are grateful for the collaboration of Jose
Cabodevila e Itziar. A. Diez provided us with accurate
information on the stela of Calvera. J. C. López Quintana
has facilitated access to the data from Katilletxu
necropolis which is on course of excavation. L. Raposo
made possible access to documentation on the Portuguese
material. O. Sousa provided us with the text of his
research (MA thesis). E. Terés, director of the Numancia
Museum, has allowed us a detailed revision of Villa del
Alba statue, during which we enjoyed the company and
support of Gómez Barrera. Lara Bacelar Alves translated
the text to English, bringing in interesting questions.
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