Pintura esquemática y territorios de la Prehistoria Reciente en la cuenca interior del Tajo

Abstract

The traditional map of Postpaleolithic Art in the Iberian Peninsula left out a significant part of its inner territories. Their presumed lack of population justified the absence of research projects in the region. However, fieldwork done in the last few years in Neolithic, Megalithic and Chalcolithic settings within this area has suggested demographic abundance and an entirely unknown symbology. An analysis of their near visibility, their prominent position, and their overlapping with areas inhabited from the Neolithic to the late Bronze Age, reveals for the first time the continuing settlement of all the inner ranges and valleys of these territories. Common symbols in classical schematic art play a leading role in the area’s panels. In addition, the oldest figures point to the existence of long graphic sequences.