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| Cueva de los Casares | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cueva de los Casares |
| Location | Riba de Saelices, Guadalajara, Spain |
| Region | Castilla–La Mancha |
| Type | Cave |
| Epochs | Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic |
| Cultures | Magdalenian, Azilian |
| Excavation | 20th century |
Cueva de los Casares is a limestone cave near Riba de Saelices in the province of Guadalajara in Castile–La Mancha, Spain, notable for its Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic parietal paintings and portable art. The site sits within the Sistema Ibérico karstic landscape and has attracted researchers from institutions such as the Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Spain), the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and the Consejería de Cultura de Castilla‑La Mancha.
The cave is located near the municipality of Riba de Saelices within the administrative boundaries of the Province of Guadalajara (Spain), in proximity to the Tajo River basin and the Sierra de Albarracín foothills, and lies inside the geomorphological context of the Sistema Ibérico and the Iberian Massif. The karst setting connects it to other Spanish caves such as Cueva de Altamira, Cueva de El Castillo, Cueva de Nerja, and Cueva de La Pasiega, and places it along regional prehistoric corridors used in the Paleolithic Iberia landscape and by groups associated with the Magdalenian culture and the Epipaleolithic.
Local discovery narratives involve residents of Riba de Saelices and provincial authorities of Guadalajara (Spain), with initial attention from regional archaeologists and speleologists affiliated to the Federación Española de Espeleología and teams from the Instituto de Patrimonio Cultural de España. Systematic surveys and excavations were later organized by scholars from the Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Spain), the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), who coordinated stratigraphic studies, comparative analyses with material from sites like El Castillo (cave), Altamira Cave, and Los Millares, and collaborated with conservation bodies such as the Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural.
Excavations produced lithic assemblages comparable to materials from the Magdalenian culture, the Solutrean culture, and later Azilian industries, including backed points, bladelets, and microliths analogous to those found at Cueva de Los Aviones and Cave of Altamira. Faunal remains recovered show species also recorded in Atapuerca, Cueva de Nerja, and Cova Negra, such as red deer, ibex, and horse, and provided subsistence evidence paralleled in studies from the Cantabrian region and the Ebro Basin. Portable art and engraved objects from the site have been compared with collections in the Museo de Guadalajara and the Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Spain), while stratigraphic contexts were dated using comparative frameworks developed at El Castillo (cave) and La Pasiega.
The cave walls preserve figurative and non‑figurative motifs including zoomorphs, anthropomorphs, and abstract signs comparable to panels at Altamira, La Garma, Cave of El Pendo, and Cave of Tito Bustillo, with iconographic themes that echo symbolic repertoires documented in the Magdalenian culture and the Grotte Chauvet corpus. Scenes include horse and deer representations similar to images from Altamira Cave and schematic anthropomorphic elements that parallel examples from Lascaux and Chauvet Cave, while engraved slabs and ochre treatments recall portable art found in contexts like Le Moustier and Les Eyzies. Interpretations have been advanced by researchers linked to the Universidad de Zaragoza, the Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, and the British Museum comparative programs.
Chronological assessment integrates typological comparison with Magdalenian and Azilian industries, stratigraphic sequencing consistent with regional sequences observed at El Castillo (cave), Altamira Cave, and Cova de les Meravelles, and absolute dating techniques promoted by laboratories at the Universidad de Oviedo and the Instituto Geológico y Minero de España. Radiocarbon and uranium‑series results, contextualized within frameworks from Paleolithic Iberia research and cross‑referenced to timelines used at Lascaux and Chauvet Cave, support occupation phases ranging from the Upper Paleolithic into the Epipaleolithic/Mesolithic, with ongoing debate among teams from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
Conservation has been overseen by regional authorities including the Consejería de Cultura de Castilla‑La Mancha and national bodies such as the Instituto de Patrimonio Cultural de España, following protocols developed with input from experts at the ICOMOS and the ICOM. Access policies balance site protection with educational outreach similar to management models at Altamira Cave and Cueva de Nerja, and involve monitoring, restricted visitation, and collaboration with the Museo Nacional de Antropología (Spain) and local museums like the Museo de Guadalajara. Public engagement initiatives have linked the site to regional cultural routes promoted by the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla‑La Mancha and heritage networks including the Red de Museos Provinciales.
Category:Caves of Spain Category:Archaeological sites in Castilla–La Mancha