Altamira 1937: Grotta Aperta—Conflict Archaeology of a World Heritage Cave

This article addresses the dark and barely known side of one of the most iconic symbols of Spanish heritage: the Palaeolithic cave of Altamira (region of Cantabria). The cave is a benchmark of European rock art and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. Access to the cave’s guestbook...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inArchaeologies Vol. 13; no. 2; pp. 250 - 277
Main Author Ayán Vila, Xurxo M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Springer US 01.08.2017
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Anthropology
Archaeology
Civil war
Cultural Heritage
Paleolithic
Petroglyphs
Social Sciences
War
World Heritage Areas
Altamira Spain
Spain
Conflict Archaeology
Palaeolithic art
Cultural history of war
Spanish Civil War
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Summary:This article addresses the dark and barely known side of one of the most iconic symbols of Spanish heritage: the Palaeolithic cave of Altamira (region of Cantabria). The cave is a benchmark of European rock art and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. Access to the cave’s guestbook (inaugurated on 18 August 1928 with King Alfonso XIII’s signature) has granted us the opportunity to deconstruct the hegemonic discourse therein, and to approach a time, the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), which had been left almost without discussion in historical literature on the archaeological site. Conflict Archaeology can cast light on this unknown reality and raise controversial and contentious issues about the Altamira cave and its role as a wartime cultural asset during the war.
ISSN:1555-8622
1935-3987
DOI:10.1007/s11759-017-9320-z