See how they fly! Some considerations on symbolic transfers and territories at the end of Upper Palaeolithic

Abstract

Paleolithic portable art is constitutive of social and cultural identities, as images create a link between territories and men. Therefore, the study of some symbols can lead to a better understanding of the status and the complexity of symbolic territories. In this paper we present the history of diffusion of two symbols from Upper Magdalenian, macrocephalic horses and complex signs coming from a specific site. After a theoretical reflections on the status of symbol, we are considering what criteria should be taken into account for defining each of these symbols and understand how they have diffused-or not-in their immediate or more distant environment. The focus upon designs shareable but that haven't been transferred around suggests new perspectives for thinking the investment of human groups in their symbolic territory, through their artistic production. Therefore, we aim at demonstrating that immobility of images should, as their mobility, be taken in account in the cultural geography of the Upper palaeolithic.

Making a Difference: Palaeolithic Iconography as a Trait of Identity in the Iberian Peninsula

“…2015; Fuentes et al . 2019; Man‐Estier and Paillet 2019; Petrognani and Robert 2019; Sauvet 2019a; Garate et al . 2020).…”

“…For this reason, some authors have interpreted iconography and the way it is represented as evidence of a common symbolic system, but also as a means of studying symbolic diffusion in a territory (e.g. Sieveking 2003;Fritz et al 2007;Utrilla and Martínez-Bea 2008;Sauvet et al 2014;García-Díez et al 2015;Fuentes et al 2019;Man-Estier and Paillet 2019;Petrognani and Robert 2019;Sauvet 2019a;Garate et al 2020). Examining the proportions of representations and the themes absent in a particular area offers an equally significant perspective in understanding the so-called symbolic territories, iconographic traditions, or social geographies.…”