Books by Eduardo Palacio-Pérez
Deep-Time Images in the Age of Globalization. Rock Art in the 21st Century. Oscar Moro Abadía, Margaret W. Conkey, Josephine McDonald., 2024
Northern Spain is home to one of the richest concentrations of Paleolithic cave art found anywher... more Northern Spain is home to one of the richest concentrations of Paleolithic cave art found anywhere in the world. The universal value of this heritage was first recognized by UNESCO in 1985, when the cave of Altamira was inscribed in the World Heritage List. In 2008, a further seventeen cave art sites in the region were added to the original list. In this paper I examine this process with reference to two main issues. First, taking the case of Cantabria as a paradigm, I examine the archaeological and heritage narratives that, since the end of the nineteenth century, have made these caves a center of global rock art research. In particular, I discuss the role of these narratives in the nomination process that led to securing UNESCO World Heritage status. Second, I analyze the impact that the World Heritage status has had for Cantabria, a region in which a plurality of stakeholders must be satisfied. I suggest that the economic (tourism), conservation (heritage value), and academic (intellectual value) factors that were the primary drivers in establishing the World Heritage status of the caves constitute a plurality of diverse (and sometimes opposed) interests that have yet to be reconciled. This case study has important implications for the ways in which Paleolithic rock art is globalized by archaeological, heritage, and local communities alike.
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La historia del descubrimiento, estudio e interpretación del arte paleolítico por parte del pensa... more La historia del descubrimiento, estudio e interpretación del arte paleolítico por parte del pensamiento contemporáneo de los siglos XIX y XX resulta apasionante. Pero ésta no se compone sólo de las expediciones y hallazgos de los prehistoriadores, sino también de los debates suscitados al tratar de ordenar e interpretar esas nuevas revelaciones del pasado. De hecho, la génesis y transformación de la idea de “arte paleolítico” pueden ser interpretadas como una respuesta a todos estos debates. Este libro es una reflexión crítica sobre la manera en que se han conceptuado las imágenes y representaciones paleolíticas desde su descubrimiento a finales del siglo XIX hasta las décadas finales del siglo XX. Desde el punto de vista de la historia de las ideas y de la historia de las mentalidades, el autor profundiza en cómo ciertas concepciones del pensamiento occidental establecieron el marco de interpretación general que sirvió para explicar los grabados, pinturas y esculturas del Paleolítico durante más de un siglo. Las categorías en las que se expresó esa explicación fueron las de “arte”, “sociedad primitiva” y “evolución”.
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Papers by Eduardo Palacio-Pérez
La préhistoire au présent: Mots, images, savoirs, fictions, edited by Sophie A. de Beaune and Rémi Labrusse, 89–103. Paris: CNRS Éditions., 2021
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Applied Biosciences, 1: 40-63, 2022
European caves contain some of the world’s greatest Paleolithic paintings, and their conservation... more European caves contain some of the world’s greatest Paleolithic paintings, and their conservation is at risk due to the use of artificial lighting. Both lighting and high CO2 promotes the growth of phototrophic organisms on walls, speleothems and ground sediments. In addition, the combined effect of increases in CO2, vapor concentration and temperature variations induced by visitors can directly affect the development of corrosion processes on the cave rock surfaces. An early detection of the occurrence of phototrophic biofilms on Paleolithic paintings is of the utmost importance, as well as knowing the microorganisms involved in the colonization of rocks and walls. Knowledge of the colonizing species and their ecology will allow the adoption of control measures. However, this is not always possible due to the limited amount of biomass available for molecular analyses. Here, we present an alternative approach to study faint green biofilms of Chlorophyta in the initial stage of colonization on the Polychrome Panel in El Castillo Cave, Cantabria, Spain. The study of the biofilms collected on the rock art panel and in the ground sediments revealed that the lighting of the cave promoted the development of the green algae Jenufa and Coccomyxa, as well as of complex prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities, including amoebae, their endoparasites and associated bacteria and fungi. The enrichment method used is proposed as a tool to overcome technical constraints in characterizing biofilms in the early stages, allowing a preliminary characterization before deciding for direct or indirect interventions in the cave.
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Veleia, 2020, 37: 141-156, 2020
André Leroi-Gourhan took part in the modernization process experienced by French prehistory in th... more André Leroi-Gourhan took part in the modernization process experienced by French prehistory in the midtwentieth century. In this context, he worked hard to build an interdisciplinary prehistoric science with strong links with anthropology and ethnology. In this paper, we examine how Leroi-Gourhan’s interpretation of Palaeolithic art was shaped by his understanding of the relationships between prehistory and ethnology. This is particularly evident, for instance, in the influence that French ethnologist Marcel Mauss exerted upon Leroi-Gourhan’s thinking on artistic behavior. Similarly, André Leroi-Gourhan understanding of Palaeolithic art was grounded on a number of ethnological ideas. Additionally, we discuss the reception that these new conceptions of prehistoric art had in French, Spanish and Anglo-Saxon archaeological traditions. Finally, we examine whether the new perspective of prehistoric art that Leroi-Gourhan introduced in the 1960s can be examined with reference to the concept of interdisciplinarity.
André Leroi-Gourhan participó en el proceso de modernización que experimentó la prehistoria francesa a mediados del siglo xx. En este contexto trabajó para construir una ciencia prehistórica interdisciplinar que quedara incluida dentro del campo epistemológico de la etnología. En este artículo indagamos en cómo afectó la aproximación que este investigador estableció entre prehistoria y etnología a su comprensión del arte paleolítico. Esta conexión se hace especialmente significativa en la influencia que su maestro, el etnólogo francés Marcel Mauss, tuvo en la conformación de su pensamiento sobre el comportamiento artístico,y en cómo André Leroi-Gourhan trasladó estas ideas al estudio y análisis del arte paleolítico. Adicionalmente discutimos la diferente acogida que tuvieron estas nuevas concepciones sobre el arte prehistórico en las tradiciones arqueológicas francesa, española y anglosajona. Por último, discutimos si la nueva perspectiva que introdujo Leroi-Gourhan del arte prehistórico desde nociones procedentes de la etnología puede explicarse a partir del concepto de interdisciplinariedad.
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Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 28, 2019
Evidence of the potential occurrence of Palaeolithic red paintings has been found in several cave... more Evidence of the potential occurrence of Palaeolithic red paintings has been found in several caves in Cantabria since the 1980s. Awareness of those references led us to propose a research project aiming at exploring the caves with the most recent methods and techniques of graphic data acquisition and processing to the Government of the Autonomous Community. Encouraged by the discovery of Cueva Auria in 2015, the project started in 2016. In a first stage, seven caves were selected for study with the systematic integrated application of lasergrammetry, photogrammetry, microphotography and multispectral imagery. This high-resolution study has been able to confirm the existence of six new Palaeolithic cave art sites in Cantabria. The preliminary results of the project, programed to last for another two years, are most interesting from a scientific perspective. The new cave art sites, as in the case of Cueva Auria, can be assigned to an archaic phase within Palaeolithic Art, that is to say, to a pre-Magdalenian age. With the exception of El Rejo Cave, where the main panel includes some animal figures, and an imprint of a hand of La Brazada Cave, none of the new assemblages contain either zoomorphic or human representations. Apart from parietal testimonies which could be linked to the human frequentation of the caves and not properly, to the category of graphic expressions (such as stains, small marks, imprints and other coloured traces), these small ensembles constitute an interesting group of cave art sites mainly formed by isolated dots or integrated in geometric compositions, discs, spots, isolated or paired strokes, and, in two cases, by complex rectangular signs. The new discoveries imply a significant increase in the number of Palaeolithic Cave Art sites in the Cantabrian region, which could be related to other assemblages in the same region and other proximate areas. All together, they demonstrate the great variability of the regional parietal record in the Early Upper Palaeolithic. We can be optimistic that further research, applying the systematic approach developed by this project, will continue to improve knowledge of pre-Magdalenian cave art in northern Spain.
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Journal of Archaeological Science 74, 2016
Much of our knowledge of the symbolic world of Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers is based on th... more Much of our knowledge of the symbolic world of Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers is based on the study of the graphic representations found in Western European caves. However, to date, few studies have been conducted on rock art apart from chronological and stylistic characterisation. Altamira Cave (northern Iberia) is characterised by an outstanding rock art ensemble, whose representations cover practically the whole Upper Palaeolithic. The site is equally important for the rich Upper Palaeolithic deposits in the cave entrance, which contain large shell assemblages. Traditionally, the presence of shells in hunter-fisher-gatherer settlements has been interpreted as part of the diet and/or the symbolic world (through the creation of ornaments) of these groups, regardless of their possible use as an instrument. In this paper we utilise use-wear methodology, chemical analysis and analytical experimentation to verify the initial hypothesis that shells in the archaeological deposits of Altamira were used to obtain the ochre powder utilised to produce the magnificent and diverse rock art ensemble in the cave. The results provide new information on the process of obtaining pigments for the realisation of paintings and confirm that the use of shells to obtain ochre was a systematic activity throughout the whole study period. Finally, our conclusions support the explanatory model that highlights the role played by marine resources for Upper Palaeolithic human populations.
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In G. Delley, M. Díaz-Andreu, F. Djindjian, V. M. Fernández, A. Guidi and M.A. Kaeser, History of Archaeology: International Perspectives (Proceedings of the XVII UISPP World Congress, 1–7 September 2014, Burgos, Spain), Pp. 9-16.
In this article I would like to focus on a particular episode in the history of archaeology: the ... more In this article I would like to focus on a particular episode in the history of archaeology: the change in the concept of Palaeolithic art between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. At this time a notion of art based on innocent realism and the decorative nature of the representations was transformed into one founded on an evolutionist explanation of the artistic form and the symbolic-religious meaning of the different motifs. This change was determined by the introduction of ideas developed by British evolutionists to the field of French prehistory. This took place within a complex scenario marked by the tension between each country’s own archaeological tradition and a clear trend towards the international transmission of ideas. The French researchers Salomon Reinach (1858-1932) and Henri Breuil (1877-1961) played a vital role in this process.
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André Leroi-Gourhan’s work is usually considered a paradigmatic example of the application of str... more André Leroi-Gourhan’s work is usually considered a paradigmatic example of the application of structuralist ideas to the study of Palaeolithic art. The association between Leroi-Gourhan and structuralism is, however, problematic. Leroi-Gourhan explicitly distinguished his approach from that of Lévi-Strauss. Furthermore, he developed an explanatory model for the analysis of cave and portable art based on a number of postulates that were not necessarily connected to structuralism. We examine Leroi-Gourhan’s understanding of Palaeolithic
art in order to determine the influence of structuralism upon his work. This examination will help us to consider some alternative perspectives on the so-called structural analysis of Palaeolithic art. Moreover, Leroi-Gourhan’s case will allow us to reflect on how archaeologists appropriate theory from other disciplines and how intellectual production in archaeology works.
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Les historiens de l’archéologie ont souvent considéré André Leroi-Gourhan comme l’auteur qui a in... more Les historiens de l’archéologie ont souvent considéré André Leroi-Gourhan comme l’auteur qui a introduit la démarche « structuraliste » dans l’analyse de l’art paléolithique. Dans ce contexte, ils ont souligné le caractère innovateur de certaines de ses idées ainsi que la rupture que sa pensée a effectuée par rapport à l’interprétation de l’abbé Breuil. Néanmoins, certaines continuités peuvent s’établir entre les idées d’André Leroi-Gourhan et celles des auteurs précédents. En particulier, nous allons montrer comment il a fondé son analyse de l’art paléolithique sur un appareil conceptuel qu’il a emprunté à l’histoire formaliste de l’art (comme l’idée de progrès artistique) ainsi que sur quelques idées à propos de l’homme primitif qui ont été formulées par des anthropologues dès la fin du XIXe siècle. En effet, la pensée de Leroi-Gourhan sur l’art paléolithique émerge de la rencontre des conceptions traditionnelles et des idées nouvelles sur cette matière. La rencontre de l’ancien et du nouveau se fait évidente dans ses idées sur l’esthétique et l’art, la religion et l’évolution. Nous allons essayer de reconstituer la pensée d’André Leroi-Gourhan sur l’art paléolithique à travers une grille d’interprétation qui explore cette dialectique entre continuité et rupture.
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Historians of archaeology have often considered André Leroi-Gourhan as the primary proponent of structuralism in Palaeolithic art research. They have often emphasized the innovative character of André Leroi-Gourhan’s ideas and the differences between his theory and that of Breuil. Nevertheless, important continuities may be established between André Leroi-Gourhan and his predecessors. In this paper we seek to demonstrate that his theoretical model was based on a number of concepts borrowed from the formalist history of art (e.g. the idea of ‘artistic progress’) as well as on several ideas first developed by anthropologists at the end of the 19th century. In fact, André Leroi-Gourhan’s theoretical framework concerning Palaeolithic art was based both on traditional and innovative notions about this subject.
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This paper explores the origin and theoretical roots of the concept of ‘Palaeolithic art’ in the ... more This paper explores the origin and theoretical roots of the concept of ‘Palaeolithic art’ in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (1895–1906). It identifies three main sources for this concept: the Western category of ‘art’, the idea of evolution and the notion of primitive. This article shows how the traditional conception of ‘Palaeolithic art’ is a particular case of the wider idea of ‘primitive art’, a category that was born as an attempt to harmonise the notion of ‘primitive society’ and the nineteenth-century bourgeois concept of ‘art’. Additionally, I discuss this traditional conception as the source of a number of ideas that have persisted in our way of interpreting Palaeolithic images until recently, including the understanding of prehistoric images through the lens of the modern notion of ‘art’, their interpretation in symbolic-religious terms and their formal definition based on the idea of naturalism.
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KREI, 12: 83 – 117., 2014
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The study of prehistory established itself as a scientific discipline during the second half of t... more The study of prehistory established itself as a scientific discipline during the second half of the nineteenth century. The main issues discussed by this new science centered on the origins of humankind, society, technology, art and religion; this intellectual process of the creation of ideas, concepts and categories was projected on the archaeological finds. When archaeological evidence was found that could be interpreted as proof of the existence of religious beliefs in Paleolithic times, there were various reactions and interpretations among prehistorians. The clash between evolutionism and the Judeo-Christian religious tradition was a key element in the development of these different discourses; these two viewpoints implied opposite ways of thinking about human nature. This paper discusses this diversity of narratives, specifically in the context of France, through the contributions of four authors, each with different ideologies and sociopolitical circumstances: Gabriel de Mortillet, Émile Cartailhac, Salomon Reinach and Henri Breuil.
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El 14 de diciembre de 2012 falleció el arqueólogo norteamericano Leslie Gordon Freeman. Tan sólo ... more El 14 de diciembre de 2012 falleció el arqueólogo norteamericano Leslie Gordon Freeman. Tan sólo unos tres meses más tarde, el 22 de marzo de 2013, moriría su colega y amigo Joaquín González Echegaray. No es frecuente hacer un obituario conjunto, quizá porque no hay acto más unilateral que morir, pero en el caso de estos dos colosos de la arqueología cabe la excepción. Esta salvedad puede deberse a que una parte importante de su trayectoria investigadora fue compartida, pero, sobre todo, se justifica porque ambos fueron protagonistas del primer impulso renovador que benefició a la arqueología española en la segunda mitad del siglo XX. En efecto, su colaboración, desde que se conocieron en 1962, es un símbolo de la ruptura del aislamiento de la arqueología peninsular y su apertura, tímida en un principio, a las técnicas y teorías más innovadoras que por entonces se estaban desarrollando en Norteamérica. Pero además de esta dimensión conjunta, sobre la que volveremos más tarde, es oportuno precisar por separado algunos rasgos esenciales de sus biografías y carreras investigadoras.
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This article examines the impact of ‘naturalism’ upon the understanding of Paleolithic cave art d... more This article examines the impact of ‘naturalism’ upon the understanding of Paleolithic cave art during the last 150 years. In art history, the term ‘naturalism’ is commonly used to define the mode of representation seeking to imitate nature as faithfully and truthfully as possible. This ‘naturalistic’ ideal influenced traditional interpretations of cave images in a number of fundamental ways. In particular, during the greater part of the twentieth century, archaeologists, anthropologists and art historians focused on ‘realistic’ representations and overlooked ‘non-naturalistic’ images. This ‘naturalistic’ interpretation of cave images remained unchallenged until the last 30 years, when the favored position of realistic images has been questioned by a number of theoretical and empirical developments.
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When did upper Palaeolithic cave art come to be thought of as religious? The author shows an orig... more When did upper Palaeolithic cave art come to be thought of as religious? The author shows an origin rooted in the intellectual movements of the later nineteenth century, and in particular in the personage and thought of Salomon Reinach.
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This paper explores the origins of the symbolic–religious interpretation of Palaeolithic art. We ... more This paper explores the origins of the symbolic–religious interpretation of Palaeolithic art. We analyse the relationship between the explanations that were given of the ‘primitive’ mentality in the second half of the nineteenth century and the birth of the religious interpretations of Palaeolithic art and we try to show how this union does not express a direct cause effect relationship. In order for the union to take place, an intellectual change that would generate a new way of understanding the origins and the nature of art was necessary.
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In Pérez Avellaneda, M. (coord.), Hermilio Alcalde del Río (1866-1947), 2017
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Books by Eduardo Palacio-Pérez
Papers by Eduardo Palacio-Pérez
André Leroi-Gourhan participó en el proceso de modernización que experimentó la prehistoria francesa a mediados del siglo xx. En este contexto trabajó para construir una ciencia prehistórica interdisciplinar que quedara incluida dentro del campo epistemológico de la etnología. En este artículo indagamos en cómo afectó la aproximación que este investigador estableció entre prehistoria y etnología a su comprensión del arte paleolítico. Esta conexión se hace especialmente significativa en la influencia que su maestro, el etnólogo francés Marcel Mauss, tuvo en la conformación de su pensamiento sobre el comportamiento artístico,y en cómo André Leroi-Gourhan trasladó estas ideas al estudio y análisis del arte paleolítico. Adicionalmente discutimos la diferente acogida que tuvieron estas nuevas concepciones sobre el arte prehistórico en las tradiciones arqueológicas francesa, española y anglosajona. Por último, discutimos si la nueva perspectiva que introdujo Leroi-Gourhan del arte prehistórico desde nociones procedentes de la etnología puede explicarse a partir del concepto de interdisciplinariedad.
art in order to determine the influence of structuralism upon his work. This examination will help us to consider some alternative perspectives on the so-called structural analysis of Palaeolithic art. Moreover, Leroi-Gourhan’s case will allow us to reflect on how archaeologists appropriate theory from other disciplines and how intellectual production in archaeology works.
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Historians of archaeology have often considered André Leroi-Gourhan as the primary proponent of structuralism in Palaeolithic art research. They have often emphasized the innovative character of André Leroi-Gourhan’s ideas and the differences between his theory and that of Breuil. Nevertheless, important continuities may be established between André Leroi-Gourhan and his predecessors. In this paper we seek to demonstrate that his theoretical model was based on a number of concepts borrowed from the formalist history of art (e.g. the idea of ‘artistic progress’) as well as on several ideas first developed by anthropologists at the end of the 19th century. In fact, André Leroi-Gourhan’s theoretical framework concerning Palaeolithic art was based both on traditional and innovative notions about this subject.
André Leroi-Gourhan participó en el proceso de modernización que experimentó la prehistoria francesa a mediados del siglo xx. En este contexto trabajó para construir una ciencia prehistórica interdisciplinar que quedara incluida dentro del campo epistemológico de la etnología. En este artículo indagamos en cómo afectó la aproximación que este investigador estableció entre prehistoria y etnología a su comprensión del arte paleolítico. Esta conexión se hace especialmente significativa en la influencia que su maestro, el etnólogo francés Marcel Mauss, tuvo en la conformación de su pensamiento sobre el comportamiento artístico,y en cómo André Leroi-Gourhan trasladó estas ideas al estudio y análisis del arte paleolítico. Adicionalmente discutimos la diferente acogida que tuvieron estas nuevas concepciones sobre el arte prehistórico en las tradiciones arqueológicas francesa, española y anglosajona. Por último, discutimos si la nueva perspectiva que introdujo Leroi-Gourhan del arte prehistórico desde nociones procedentes de la etnología puede explicarse a partir del concepto de interdisciplinariedad.
art in order to determine the influence of structuralism upon his work. This examination will help us to consider some alternative perspectives on the so-called structural analysis of Palaeolithic art. Moreover, Leroi-Gourhan’s case will allow us to reflect on how archaeologists appropriate theory from other disciplines and how intellectual production in archaeology works.
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Historians of archaeology have often considered André Leroi-Gourhan as the primary proponent of structuralism in Palaeolithic art research. They have often emphasized the innovative character of André Leroi-Gourhan’s ideas and the differences between his theory and that of Breuil. Nevertheless, important continuities may be established between André Leroi-Gourhan and his predecessors. In this paper we seek to demonstrate that his theoretical model was based on a number of concepts borrowed from the formalist history of art (e.g. the idea of ‘artistic progress’) as well as on several ideas first developed by anthropologists at the end of the 19th century. In fact, André Leroi-Gourhan’s theoretical framework concerning Palaeolithic art was based both on traditional and innovative notions about this subject.
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