Time and Mind

The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture

ISSN: 1751-696X (Print) 1751-6978 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rtam20

Deer and Horses in Atlantic Rock Art: A Structural

Analysis of Iconography in the Landscape
Manuel Santos-Estvez
To cite this article: Manuel Santos-Estvez (2015) Deer and Horses in Atlantic Rock Art: A
Structural Analysis of Iconography in the Landscape, Time and Mind, 8:3, 257-277, DOI:
10.1080/1751696X.2015.1066128
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1751696X.2015.1066128

Published online: 12 Aug 2015.

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Time & Mind, 2015

Vol. 8, No. 3, 257277, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1751696X.2015.1066128

Deer and Horses in Atlantic

Rock Art: A Structural Analysis
of Iconography in the Landscape
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Manuel Santos-Estvez*
CITCEM, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
(Received 23 October 2014; accepted 12 June 2015)
The aim of this paper is to show how the structural analysis of the
iconography and the landscape can make feasible an understanding of the
meaning of some rock engravings. The distribution of several zones with
hunting scenes in Atlantic rock art are analyzed, finding some constants
in the distribution of some landscape characteristics. This distribution is
observed on several sites and at various scales. The detection of structural similarities at several sites occupied in Late Prehistory by communities of the same ethnic group can be explained by the existence of a
ritual developed in these rock art areas. This ritual could be similar to
the curros, an old tradition related to wild horses. It is impossible to
know if the curros are the survival of an ancient tradition, but it is
possible to use the study of that tradition to understand, at least at a
functional level, what is being represented on the panels with quadrupeds in Atlantic rock art.
Keywords: Atlantic rock art; iconography; deer; horses; landscape
archaeology; structural analysis

Introduction
This paper presents a methodology based
on an analysis of the structure of the landscape in order to pose a hypothesis about
one of the several possible meanings of
concentrations of engraved rocks. First,
*Email: manuel.santos@mundo-r.com
2015 Taylor & Francis

we deconstruct the main compositions

shown on the panels and establish which
ones refer to hunting, so that what we call
a recurrent iconography can be identified,
i.e., hunting scenes that are represented in
different places with similar compositions.

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M. Santos-Estvez

Second, the landscape features are analyzed in order to deconstruct their basic
shapes. By doing this, we can study how
certain iconographies appear to be linked
to the topography. This model works if the
link between the iconography and the
landscape features is repeated and forms
a constant theme in different places. Third,
it is proposed that an interpretation of the
scenes depicted on the rock art panels can
be made by comparing the images to an
ethnographic tradition currently present in
Galicia, the curros.
The Atlantic Style is spread throughout
Northern Portugal, Galicia, Ireland and
Northern Great Britain. It is characterized
by the presence of cup-and-rings, although
in the Iberian Peninsula we also find some
representations of weapons, human figures
and animals (mainly quadrupeds), and
some other minor motifs. Regarding the
chronological framework, this group of
engravings is classified as being dated to
between the Neolithic Period and the
Iron Age. So, there are concentric circles
decorating megaliths on the British Isles,
representations of Bronze Age weapons,
and, from the Iron Age, we can find labyrinth designs and horse riding scenes. As for
the representation of stags and hunting
scenes, it is important to say that the representations of quadruped animals have the
same stylistic features as those from the
horse riding scenes, and therefore we
date horses and deer to the same period,
within the latest stage of the Atlantic Style
(Santos Estvez 2008a, 2008b, 2009).

Complex Scenes with

Quadrupeds in Atlantic Rock
Art
There are not many scenes in the Atlantic
Rock Art, but the most common in this
small group are scenes with stags, and

within this group the hunt is the most

frequent. Sixteen rocks have been studied
with clear hunting scenes. Petroglyphs
with complex scenes include quadrupeds
are located in the western part of Galicia
and in north-western Portugal (Figure 1).
The most common motifs in these
hunting scene panels have been identified
as horned deer, circular shapes, horse riding scenes, deer riding scenes, deer with
spears and idols. The most difficult figures
to identify are the so called idols or
anthropomorphic menhirs. There are
clear representations of anthropomorphic
menhirs only in two cases. However,
there are other designs that could be
interpreted as menhirs, which we will
mention later on, and this has broadened
the number of possible or supposed
representations of this type. These idols
are the rocks called Pedra das Ferraduras
and Coto do Rapadoiro, widely accepted
as such in the archaeological literature
(Garca Aln and Pea Santos 1980), the
ones between the antlers of the bigger
stags in Laxe das Cruces and in Os
Carballos, and the quadrangular figures in
front of the main stag in Rotea de Mendo
and in Outeiro do Cogoludo. These six
figures have some common features: they
are elongated figures, they are in a vertical
position and they are close to the biggest
stag. It should be added that with four of
them the idols are closely linked to the
stags antlers, i.e., their position is quite
similar in the different panels, although
these controversial figures show some
kind of polymorphism.
Table 1 shows 16 panels with complex scenes including quadrupeds, either
showing spears stuck in animals, or
human figures riding horses or walking
as if they were chasing or driving animals.
In the left column are the names of the
petroglyphs and on the right the

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Figure 1.

Location of complex scenes with quadruped animals in NW Iberia.

predominant orientation of the deer,

whereas in the other columns the X
indicates if the motif is on the panel.

After observing the chart and the

panels we can draw the following
conclusions:

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Table 1.

M. Santos-Estvez
The different designs in petroglyphs with complex scenes.

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Riding horse
P. do Rei (Fig. 2)
Os Campos
Os Mouchos
Chan da Lagoa II
L. das Cruces (Fig. 5)
Laxe. das Rodas
Os Carballos (Fig. 3)
Laxe. da Sartaa
P. das Ferraduras
C. do Rapadoiro
N. do Martio (Fig. 4)
O. do Cogoludo
Rotea de Mendo
Cova da Bruxa
Ro Anguieira
Pedra Xestosa

Spear

Idol

Big Stag

Deer orientation

left
Right
right/left
left
right
left
right
right
right
right/left
right/left
right
right
Right
Left
Right/left

X
X
X
X
X

X
X

X
X
?

X
X

X
X

X
X
X

X
X
X

(1) Deer appear in all 16 cases.

(2) Horse riding scenes and spears
stuck into animals exclude each
other, i.e., these two representations are never shown on the
same panel.
(3) Idols are present in six of the 16
cases and in five of them they
share the panel with a big stag,
which stands out from the others
because of its huge size.
(4) Big stags are never predominantly
orientated to the left.
(5) Five of the six panels with a stele
have deer orientated to the right.
(6) In panels with stuck spears, quadrupeds run to the right.
Going beyond the data shown in the
chart, if we observe the panels with
more detail, we are able to study
the iconographic aspects of the hunting
scenes in depth. Thereby, we can
also draw the following additional
conclusions:

(1) Idols are always in front of the big

stag and are usually related to the
antlers of the big stag.
(2) Horsemen and deer are shown
separately if the horse riding
scenes and the idols are part of
the same composition.
(3) When there are no idols present
in the compositions, horsemen
and deer are close to each
other and they are part of the
same scene.
(4) Human figures riding horses
usually fit in an organized distribution of animals.
What has been pointed out up to now
will help us to know more about what
some of these panels represent. It is clear
that what was engraved on the analyzed
petroglyphs are deer hunting scenes. This
fact raises the following question: why is
this topic the most common topic in
narrative compositions, especially if we
consider that the hunt was neither the

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main form of sustenance nor the main

resource in communities with a widespread use of agriculture and cattle rearing, as was the case in Proto-history in
Atlantic Europe? On the other hand,
from an iconographic level, what was
the relationship between anthropomorphic stele and the deer hunt?
We will probably never be able to
establish a clear answer to either of
these two questions. Judging by the way
hunting is represented in the rock art, it
seems to be a practice without many
advantages; if we observe the panels we
will notice the absence of bows or traps
in these kinds of scenes. On the other
hand, we can also observe elements with
a strong ritual meaning like menhirs or
idols. Therefore, we choose to consider
the existence of a possible ritual hunt with
a clear heroic component.

Ritual hunting
After observing the hunting scenes shown
in the petroglyphs, the first question is this;
why are deer, rather than other animals,
always hunted in the Galician engravings?
One of the characteristics of Atlantic Rock
art in general and of the figurative panels
in particular is the reduced number of
designs. However, the topography is well
defined and concrete. This type of rock
art is seen almost without exception on
the route between the plains in the high
mountains and the valley lands; usually
related to pathways from low to high
lands. Sometimes, especially in the most
important groups, the engraved rocks
tend to be placed near naturally enclosed
concave spaces and located at the bottom
of the mountains (Bradley, Criado Boado,
and Fbregas Valcarce 1994a, 1994b;
Santos Estvez 1998, 1999a, 1999b;
Santos and Criado Boado 2000). These

261

are basins with wetlands and they allow

for the formation of natural pastures.
Atlantic rock art is within the framework of a larger group of rock art in Late
Prehistory and Proto-history, which has a
number of significantly common features.
First, the similarities between the compositions of panels with geometrical motifs
in North-west Iberia and those in the
British Isles are clear. But even more
interesting, especially regarding what we
are dealing with here, is the parallel
between petroglyphs in the first millennium BC in Scandinavia and of those in
the Italian Alps. Proto-history rock art
from North-west Iberia, Valcamonica
and Southern Scandinavia have the following common characteristics:
(1) Chrono-cultural sphere. In all three
cases, the communities who made
these engravings were organized in
chiefdoms (Kristiansen 2000,
44-62) and had an Indo-European
cultural substratum. These kinds of
cultures were developed generally
in Europe during the second and
first millenniums BC.
(2) The activities shown in rock art
are basically related to war and
hunting.
(3) Almost all the human figures
shown on the panels are males.
No female figures appear in this
period in NW Iberia and in
Valcamonica, in the Italian Alps,
and they are not very common
in Sweden. Nevertheless, the warrior is the major figure (Hygen
and Bengtsson 2000). All in all,
the dominance of male figures in
this period rock art is clear.
More specifically, in north-west Iberia,
Atlantic rock art is outside of settlements

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M. Santos-Estvez

and the vicinities of domestic areas.

Therefore, rock art not only disregards
domestic activities and does not represent them, it also separates itself physically from them (Santos Estvez 1999a,
2010). This is also the case in Scandinavia
(Brown et al. 2011). We could say that
there is an association between the petroglyph locations and the possible activities that may happen around them
(Bettencourt 2010, 134), i.e., activities
related to the wild, and to the world of
the warrior and the hunter. Therefore, it
is not strange that hunting is the most
recurrent topic, especially deer hunting.
This paper does not aim to deal with
the symbolic meaning of deer for IndoEuropean communities, but we have
some texts that mention how important
deer hunting was in the past in Europe.
Regarding the symbolic meaning of deer in
western cultures, Fredell (2013, 192) presents us with some interesting traditions
linking deer with long life and the longevity
of a reign. As an illustration, we could
mention Book VII of The Laws by Plato. In
this, he reflects on game hunting, which, as
explained in those documents, was considered the most noble and appropriate
one to develop heroic values. The said
treatise rejects bird shooting and fishing in
contrast to hunting, which has to be done
during the day and without traps.
Quadruped animals have a distinguished
bearing, they are strong and fast, so those
who hunted them would have certain skills
and strength, qualities that would help
them prepare for war:
Thus, only the best kind of hunting is
allowed at all that of quadrupeds,
which is carried on with horses and
dogs and mens own persons, and they
get victory over the animals by running
them down and striking them and hurling

at them, those who have a care of godlike manhood taking them with their own
hands. (Plato's Laws VII 824a, translated
by B. Jowett)

These ideas are generalized in Greek

mentality and we find them in other historical authors, like Xenophon or
Oppiano in their respective documents
about hunting in the fourth century BC
and third century AD (Schnapp 1997).
Changing the cultural area, there is
another document, this time from
Ireland, dated back to the beginning of
the Middle Ages, in which ancient traditions noted in oral history were recorded
during the sixth century (Sainero 1999).
It frequently refers to deer hunting
(Sterckx 2006), and although it is also
an initiation or skill event, this time it is
represented as a competition to gain
access to royalty:
One day in Taltiu, where his sons (the
King of Daires sons) must participate in a
horse riding competition, a druid told
him that his successor would be the
one who could catch a Golden Fleece
fawn in the competition. (Dumzil
1971, 336)

These documents seem to indicate that

hunting, in such cultural and geographically remote communities as the Irish
community during the early Middle Ages
and the Classical Greek community, had
a strong heroic component. For this reason, the ones who practiced it had to
show their strength and courage. This is
why traps and hunting little animals were
not really considered. All in all, due to the
inherent characteristics of deer
strength, speed and magnificence and
considering the weapons available at the
time, hunters would need certain athletic
qualities, and therefore deer hunting was

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probably used as a qualifying trial to join a

social status or as confirmation in gaining
and maintaining social prestige. Vernant
and Vidal-Naquet (1988, 165183) give
us a good example of how life in this wild
space, far from the domestic area, is a
basic part of the Efebia in ancient Greece.
So, it seems that hunting, as a system
to obtain resources, is not the rock arts
true topic. Hunting, it appears, must be
interpreted in the framework of a ritual
context, such as a test to prove the skill
of a hunter, where the latter behaves like
a warrior or a hero rejecting any type of
advantage in catching the prey he is chasing. This is probably why hunting during
the first millennium BC could have two
main purposes: the consolidation of
some of these mens status as warriors
or hunters, or the achievement of this
status. For example, hunting as an initiation rite or a rite of passage.
In many warrior societies, hunting is
understood to be a learning process in
preparation for war. So, the warrior-tobe must understand hunting to be the
emulation of combat, or more specifically, the emulation of a kind of fight
that pursues glory, social prestige, and
ultimately the legitimization of their
dominant position in society (Clastres
1987). Examples of this can be seen in
many societies in different geographical
points, especially in warlike societies like
Samburu, Massai, Himba in Eastern
Africa or Baruya and Sambia in
Oceania (Godelier 1986; Gilmore
1990). This is why hunting, as a metaphor of war, must be performed under
certain conditions.

Iconographic Analysis
Returning to north-western Iberia, the
next question is: how does the study of

263

rock art and landscape improve our

knowledge on the use of hunting as a
ritual activity? Some clues on this topic
can be found in the analyzed panels, and
these can help us to study ritual or initiation hunting in depth.
As already remarked upon, in complex deer panels, spears, horse riding and
deer riding never share the same rock
surfaces. How can this be interpreted?
First, the fact that deer with spears
never share a panel with the riders
seems to indicate that horses are not
used for hunting deer, at least, not
directly. That is to say the hunter does
not shoot when he is riding a horse; the
hunter has to be standing when shooting
down the animal.
Second, there is no use of bows or
traps, and this fact fits the heroic hunting
scenario, in which the hunter must
approach the prey out in the open, without any type of advantage over the animal. All in all, it is not just the catching of
prey.
Third, it is important to say that
although horse riding is not directly
related to deer hunting, it does intervene
indirectly. What is its role then? For
instance, some scenes like Chan da
Lagoa, Laxe das Cruces, Laxe da
Sartaa, etc., riders have a peripheral
position, and this could mean that horses
are used to regroup or drive the herd
towards a certain place.
As discussed above, there are two
types of scenes. One scene seems to
represent one or several riders driving
or hounding a deer herd and the other
scene had standing hunters killing those
animals. This, together with other iconographic elements, can be interpreted as
two iconographic groups, which we
summarize in the following part of this
work.

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M. Santos-Estvez

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First Iconographic Group: Chasing

the Herd
The presence of the same motifs on the
same panel does not mean that there is
an iconographic group, but it is the first
step in order to identify it. At Pinal do
Rei, (Figure 2) Laxe das Rodas, Laxe da
Sartaa, Chan da Lagoa II and Nabal do
Martio there are three motifs that coincide: the riding scene, the circles and the
deer (Table 1); however, these four
compositions have some other similarities. None of the four petroglyphs
shows a stag that is bigger than the
rest; the presence of a hunter either
walking or riding a horse seems to

disturb the group of animals; and sometimes deer without horns are represented separately from horned deer,
for example in Nabal do Martio
(Figure 4). This could be understood as
a hunting strategy that tries to select a
specimen according to their gender and
this would explain the presence of riders
who would obviously make things easier.
All in all, the scene could represent
selective hunting which aimed to kill, or
isolate, an adult stag. We dont know for
what propose. The hunters intentions
could be just to drive or capture the
herd since there are no spears stuck
into the animals.

Figure 2. Pinal do Rei (Morrazo Peninsula). This is an example of a composition with a horse
riding scene; the animals do not have spears stuck in them and the deer are orientated to the left.
Drawing from Garca Aln and Pea Santos 1980: 35.

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Second Iconographic Group: The

Idol and Deer Killing
This group comprises the panels of Os
Carballos (Figure 3), Pedra das
Ferraduras, Rotea de Mendo, Outeiro do
Cogoludo and Laxe das Cruces (Figure 5).
Three of these five rocks have four common motifs: stuck spears, representations
of idols or anthropomorphic menhirs, circles and stags. A bigger stag is shown in
four of them, as well as an idol clearly
related to the deer horn or its front; the
hunters are all standing and spears are
stuck into the deer on two of the panels.
Within this iconographic group, in the
Laxe das Cruces panel all the elements
are shown except for the stuck spears.
Here we find again a big cervid with an
idol related to its antlers, the two riders
are located aside the main scene, and in
this case, a standing hunter is the closest
human and he certainly shares the scene
with the deer herd.
In short, the two hunting iconographic groups can be summarized as in
Table 2.
One interpretation could be that we
are faced with the representation of two
different types of hunting practice or two
different stages of a process that starts
either by leading the herd, as represented
in the first iconographic group, or with
the driving of a stag to a certain place in
order to hunt it, as represented in the
second iconographic group.
The next section deals with the integration of the results of the iconographic and
ethnographic analysis into the landscape.
This aims to complete the interpretation
of the panels contents regarding hunting
and also to present a hypothesis on the
purpose of these ritual areas in the Iron
Age. In the next few lines, we will try to
define a location model in several areas
and, after that, we will analyze how these

265

two types of panels work in this location

model.

Iconography and Landscape

Representation
Spatial Structuring of the Chan da
Lagoa-Fentns (Campo Lameiro)
The following text discusses the way that
rock art is distributed in the Chan da
Lagoa-Fentns area and how the rock
engravings on the panels seem to follow
a pattern relating to the topography. We
would like to verify that, if it is true that a
structuring model for the Atlantic rock art
exists, this model is observable at different
scales of analysis and that the patterns that
rule the distribution of elements on the
different levels are not contradictory.
Seven sectors consisting of a number
of petroglyphs have been defined in the
Chan da Lagoa-Fentns group, but they
really make a whole, which is internally
consistent. Two of these have the greatest
number of engravings, the most varied
motifs, and it is also in these two places
that a number of exclusive or minority
motifs are registered. Chan da LagoaFentns rock-art site is in a plain with
mountain pastures or wetlands where
there coincide a confluence of lines of
movement (Figure 6). Almost all the
representations of deer, the only representations of idols-steles of the Chan da
Lagoa-Fentns area and the only human
representations and riding scenes are
found in these two places. Another aspect
that must be highlighted is the fact that the
three most complex panels are located in
these areas. All in all, these are the so
called central or core places, which
together with passage areas, make up the
transition places or accesses and marginal
basins that form the rock landscape
(Santos Estvez 2008a).

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266

Figure 3. Os Carballos (Campo Lameiro). Example of a hunting scene with spear-struck animals,
idoliform figure related to the antlers of a large stag and quadruped animals orientated to the right.
After Santos Estvez and Seoane Veiga 2010.

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267

Figure 4. Nabal do Martio, Tourn.

After Tourn Archaeological Center.

Figure 5. Laxe das Cruces, Tourn.

After Tourn Archaeological Center.

Therefore, there are two main sectors,

one in the north in an elevated location
(Chan da Lagoa) and the other in the
south in a lower position (Fentns). In

Fentns we find the most complex panel,

Pedra das Ferraduras. This shows a hunting scene and some weapons; on the
other hand, the orientation of the deer is

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M. Santos-Estvez

Table 2.

Describing the two iconographic groups.

Hunters
riding

No
spears

No big
stag

Stags and does are

separated

2nd Group

Hunters on
foot

Spears

Big stag

Stags and does are

not separated

Animals are orientated

towards left or left and
right.
Animals orientated towards
right

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1st Group

Figure 6. Distribution of rock art in Chan da Lagoa and Fentns.

Author and Anxo Rodrguez.

opposite and convergent, and there is also

an idol-stele in a central position. The
horns of a bigger deer superimpose the

idol-stele. In the two main places of the

Chan da Lagoa-Fentns area we find the
opposite pairs represented in Table 3.

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Table 3. Chan da Lagoa-Fentns: location of
the main petroglyphs and spatial structuring.

Chan da Lagoa I

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High position
Scene of a hounding
Mixed up deer
Deer with no stuck
spears
Deer with divergent
orientation
Marginal idol
Absence of a big deer

Pedra das Ferraduras

in Fentns
Low position
Scene of a hunting
Organized deer
Deer with stuck spears
Deer with convergent
orientation
Central idol
Presence of a big deer

Next we are going to check if this

model works in rock art stations located
outside the Chan da Lagoa-Fentns
group. This is the only possible way to
be more precise when defining the
model or just to check, whether or not
it is just a coincidence. In short, if this
model repeats itself in different areas,
our proposal will be consolidated.

Model of Spatial Structuring in

Tourn
Now to check if the Chan da LagoaFentns structuring model can be applied
to the Tourn rock art station in Ponte
Caldelas. Tourn has a large number of
engraved rocks and is located about
15km south of Fentns. So it is necessary
to start defining the parts of the rock art
stations landscape and if possible, to find
an analogy between Tourn and Chan da
Lagoa-Fentns.
There are two panels in this area that
stand out from the others for their complexity. They are characterized by their
larger size, the great amount of motifs
and their variety. Once again, they have
exclusive motifs that cannot be found on
other panels within the same rock art

269

station. The petroglyphs we refer to are

those at Laxe das Cruces and Nabal do
Martio. Both represent hunting scenes
but with slight differences. In looking for
parallels, they would be comparable with
Pedra das Ferraduras and Chan da Lagoa,
respectively.
Laxe das Cruces is located in a lower
position than Nabal do Martio (Figure 7).
A hunting scene is represented with a
human figure capturing a deer and a larger
deer with disproportionately big horns. It
is also necessary to highlight the presence
of two deer in a convergent position on
the lower right hand corner of the panel
which seem to represent the arrival point
of the deer situated below the circles and
the small quadrupeds situated over the
mentioned figures. The two figures
between the big deer horns are also outstanding. Their position is similar to those
of the idol-stele figures in other big panels
such as Pedra das Ferraduras. This is why
we understand them as possible representations of the same figure in the three
cases mentioned.
Nabal do Martio is topographically
located in a higher position and is less
complex than Laxe das Cruces. In this
scene, the animals are shown running in
two opposite directions, the animals on
the left run towards north-west up the
hill and the animals on the right run
south-east as if following the path that
goes down to the basin where the
other petroglyphs are. Therefore, we
are faced with two groups of animals in
a divergent position. On the other hand,
we must point out the absence in this
panel of a deer that stands out because
of its great size, and also the absence of a
stele figure (or a similar figure that could
be interpreted as one). It is important to
mention the separation between genders, that is to say, the females are

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M. Santos-Estvez

Figure 7. Structural model of distribution of rock art in Tourn rock art station.
Author; photo from Google Earth.

located in the higher part and the males

in the lower part.
In addition to these two main points,
there is a group of rocks in the central
part of the station, more specifically in
Coto das Sombrias, which represents
the transition between the two large
rock art panels.
If we combine the rock groups of
Chan da Lagoa-Fentns and Tourn, we
are able to define an organizational
model like the one shown in Table 4,
which is compatible in both cases.

Rianxo, a Third Area with Hunting

Scenes
We still have to check if the spatial structuring of the rock art stations also
repeated itself on the iconographical
level, as well as in the landscape distribution. It was possible to locate a third area

Table 4. Structural model of rock art stations with complex deer scenes.
Upper main place
Higher position
Hunting or hounding
scenes
Divergent and not
organized deer.
Concentric circles and
deer share the panel.
The idol is in a
secondary position or
does not exist.
Herds of male deer
without a big deer
Horse riding scenes

Lower main place

Lower position
Hunting scenes
Convergent deer
Concentric circles and
deer share the panel.
The idol is in a central
position
Presence of a big deer
Humans go on foot

where this distribution and the iconography of Tourn and Chan da LagoaFentns repeated: Rianxo, located 25km
north-west of Chan da Lagoa.

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The petroglyphs of Rianxo are mainly

distributed around two areas: one concentration of rock engravings is situated
in a basin close to the sea in a place
known as Os Mouchos and the other is
located around Os Campos basin, on a
higher point above sea level than the
other. This new area satisfies the necessary requirements to make a comparative
analysis: its figurative motifs refer to complex deer scenes and the carvings are
organized around two basins.
Os Mouchos, located at a lower altitude, consists of about 18 rocks decorated
with stags, cup-and-rings and horse riding
scenes. From the iconographic point of
view, there are some formal characteristics, which are typical of the Atlantic Style,
for instance, the location of circles above
the animals, figures arranged diagonally,
etc. (Santos Estvez 2008b). The animals
orientation is the same if they are shown
at the same altitude as each other, but if
they are orientated in opposite directions
they are also distributed at different
heights so that, although organized, they
are never convergent. On the other hand,
animals are never shown pierced with
spears, and as a result the rule of iconographic incompatibility between horse riding scenes and animals with spears is met.
If we head towards the pasture area
of Os Campos, surrounded by more
than 20 engraved rocks, we find some
iconographic differences regarding the
previous group. There are at least two
cases where animals are orientated in a
convergent way, even with their snouts
touching: horse-riding scenes have not
been found and we can see an animal
with a stuck spear.
The Rianxo rock art station is not as
complex from the iconographic point of
view as Tourn or Chan da LagoaFentns, but they all share common spatial

271

and iconographical principles. We must

remember that these three areas have a
large number of rocks and it is quite striking that the minimum structuring principles defined for complex rock art stations
of hunting subjects are never broken. This
is why we suggest that a ritual place could
have existed in the area of Rianxo similar
to those of the other two areas.
If we compare the areas of Chan da
Lagoa-Fentns, Tourn and Rianxo, we
find the following common characteristics:
(i) They are organized around two basins
or plains with wetlands at the bottom. (ii)
Horse riding scenes are never shown in
the same basin as those with the animals
with stuck spears. (iii) The animals are
always convergent whenever they are
shown with stuck spears. (iv) The animals
are orientated divergently or disorganized
whenever horse riding scenes appear. (v)
In these scenes, animals with stuck spears
are orientated towards the right.
So now that the spatial structuring of
the engravings is evidenced in three areas of
western Galicia, we will try to find the possible function of these rock art sites to that
end we next need to analyze an old ethnographic tradition related to quadrupeds.

Rock Art with Quadrupeds: An

Ethnographical Interpretation
We can be sure that the purpose of
these places in Atlantic rock art depicting hunting scenes was varied, although
most must be, to a greater or lesser
extent, related to the ritual sphere.
We know rock art seems to be isolated from the domestic areas, usually
located in a remote place. We can
consider the hypothesis that in places
with carved quadrupeds there were
activities with a strong symbolic and
social meaning related to masculinity.

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272

M. Santos-Estvez

This idea is supported by the fact that

the gender of human figures in the
scenes is either not clearly stated or
they are clearly men. Currently, we can
establish that there are no human figures with female attributes.
We have already talked about the
complex system of petroglyphs in
Tourn and Chan da Lagoa-Fentns that
are organized around two basins, an
upper basin and a lower basin. In these
two areas, the upper basins show scenes
with one or more human figures standing
or riding a horse, who break into a herd
of deer. This action seems to somehow
disturb the herd, which tends to either
break up or to be gathered or led by
riders situated in compositions at a secondary position. Most of these animals
are orientated south-west, i.e., towards
the next point with rock art carvings.
Even though, in all probability, petroglyphs must have had a polysemous content. We can interpret some of them as
complex rock art stations and as representations of ritual, but not less real,
hunting strategies, which probably took
place in the same place where such carvings were present. For example, there is
a close relationship between certain
levels of meaning of some rock art panels
and the ritual activities that took place
around them. In other words, there is a
relationship between the meaning of
rock art scenes and landscape, because
the possible activities developed in the
vicinity of rock art are represented in
the carved stones.

The Curros Tradition as a Model

for Interpreting Complex
Quadruped Scenes
The curros are traditional celebrations or
feasts in Galicia. They are also known as

Rapa das Bestas (The Cut of Horses

Manes). With the archaeological and historical information that we have nowadays, it is not possible to clarify the origin
of the curros. We also have the same
problem with many other popular traditions that leave no trace in written
sources. The oldest references that allude
to the Rapa das Bestas date back to the
eighteenth century (Cabada Castro
1992). But even though we do not
know if there is a direct relationship
between the curros and other possible
activities that could be depicted in the
rock art concerning quadrupeds, it should
be noted that there are significant similarities between the actual horse tradition
and some of the rock art scenes. It may
also be significant that, with the sole
exception of the northern regions, the
vast majority of the curros are near to
rock art panels (Figure 8). That coincidence is even greater if we consider
that four of the six curros introduced in
the twentieth century are in the northern
region. By the same token, areas with
large gaps in rock art also show the
absence of the curros nowadays.
Specifically, only two traditional curros
are outside of the area with Atlantic
rock art involving quadruped motifs.
Other striking similarities are the topographical locations where both rock art
and curros occur namely, mountain
areas. The development of the curros consists of three stages. The first stage, called
parada (stop), takes place the day
before the celebration. The wild horses
are gathered into a basin with a wetland
below it in the upper area of the mountain. In the second phase, called a baixa
(the descent), the horses are taken by
people on foot and on horseback to a
second basin at a lower altitude. In the
last phase, the horses are congregated in a

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Time & Mind

Figure 8. Distribution of traditional curros (o), recent curros () and complex deer panels ()
in Galicia and northwestern Portugal.

confined area, known as the curro. This

is where the celebration takes place and
where the horses are wormed, marked

and their manes are trimmed. For example, in Morgadns (Gondomar) the parade takes place in an area called San

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274

Figure 9.

M. Santos-Estvez

Similarities between rock art scenes and curros.

Martio, located on the slopes of Mount

Aloia, then the baixa is made to the
curro located in Fechaduras about 2km
away. This landscape structure resembles
the one described on sites with rock art
articulated around two basins connected
by a transit line (Figure 9).
In former times, the descent in the
curros was made exclusively by men so
that it could serve as an initiation and
integration of the young ones into the
adult world. Herd stallions, at least in
the case of the curro, held in
Sabucedo (A Estrada), had the special
protection of Saint Lourenzo and were
considered sacred in a certain way
(Cabada 1992, 177178). While the
mares have owners, the males are the
property of Saint Lourenzo.
Sporadically, in the rock art motifs
with quadrupeds, there are compositions
that resemble those seen in the development of a curro. For example, in the

bottom panel in Laxe das Cruces

(Tourn), there is a human figure who
seems to have tied a small deer with a
rope. A similar figure appears in the same
rock art group in Coto das Sombrias. In
Nabal do Martio, also in Tourn, there
is a human figure with its arms extended,
a similar pose made by the leader of
modern day curros (Figure 9).
However, it seems clear that the
main difference between the rock art
and the curros are the animals depicted.
While in the rock art the deer are predominant, in the curros the celebration
involves just horses. In this regard, it
should be noted that there are three
complex rock art scenes with horses
instead of deer. These three panels are
located on the south-western coast of
Galicia, Outeiro dos Lameiros and Pedra
do Cazador and in north-western
Portugal in Monte Dor. We have especially focused on the Outeiro dos

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Figure 10. Big panel of Outeiro dos Lameiros. Horses replace deer in a scene which is
reminiscent of a curros.
After Outeiro dos Lameiros Archaeological Station.

Lameiros site (Baiona), where the rock

art motifs appear to be one of the most
similar representations to what we
understand nowadays as a curro. This
rock art panel shows certain peculiarities
when compared to most Atlantic rock
art compositions. Many horses can be
seen running to the right on this stone,
and this herd seems to be led by a riding
scene to the right of the composition, in
which we can also see a triskele of six
arms, a typical design of objects decorated in the Iron Age (Figure 10).
Several circular figures were carved in
the center of the panel. These are difficult
to interpret, together with a scalariform
motif, maybe a fence? In short, this scene
reminds us of those actions observable
nowadays in the descent of the stallions
in the curros.
The location of this rock art station in
a deep, narrow and tightly enclosed area
with two narrow exits to the east and
west makes it a perfect place for the
clustering and control of horse herds. It
is surely no coincidence that Outeiro dos
Lameiros is located in the northern foothills of the Groba mountain range where
several curros take place throughout the
year. But to what extent is it possible to

relate some scenes depicted in the rock

art with this traditional feast?
With regard to the relationship
between deer and horses in the IndoEuropean cultures of late prehistory, we
must take into account the idea proposed
by various scholars that refers to the replacement of deer by horses in the iconography of the Iron Age in Western Europe
around the second half of the first millennium BC. Lorrio and Snchez (2007) provide evidence for this in the Celtiberian
world; Fredell (2010, 6465) also observed
recurrent substitutions of horses by deer
and vice versa in similar contexts throughout Western Europe. Also in Galicia, a
possible representation of a horse decorated with deer antlers was recorded
(Santos Estvez 2008b, 72) similar to
those of the Iron Age tomb of Pazyryk in
Kazakhstan (500 BC) (Deonna 1957; Rolle
1980; Lebedynsky 2001, 199200).
Ultimately, the semantic affinity between
horse and deer seem to be often manifested in the art of the European Iron Age.
Maybe this symbolic affinity not only
facilitated the substitution of deer by
horses in the iconography, but also in
the ritual actions in late protohistory.
Might it be possible that the rock art

276

M. Santos-Estvez

scenes with horse herds are later than

those in which deer are depicted? Do
the curros represent the survival of an
ancient tradition captured in the rock
art? We cannot answer these questions,
but it is possible to use the study of the
curros to understand, at least at a functional level, what is being potentially
represented in the panels with quadrupeds in the Atlantic rock art.

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Acknowledgements
I want to thank Alexandre Manteiga Brea for his
help with the translation, Ana Bettencourt for
her support and help and Abby George for her
revision and useful suggestions on the text.

Funding
This paper was developed within the scope of
the project Espaos naturais, arquiteturas, arte
rupestre e deposies na pr-histria recente da
fachada ocidental do centro-norte portugus:
das aces aos significados ENARDAS.
[Reference
PTDC/HIS-ARQ/112983/2009.]
Funded by the Operational Programme
Thematic Factors of Competitiveness
(COMPETE) and by the European Regional
Development Fund (Fundo Europeu de
Desenvolvimento Regional - FEDER). Likewise,
this work was supported by the Fundao para a
Cincia e a Tecnologia [with the reference
SFRH/BPD/93700/2013].

Notes on Contributor
Manuel Santos-Estvez was post-doctoral
researcher in the Landscape Archaeology
Laboratory (USC) and Institute of Galician
Studies Padre Sarmiento (CSIC) and, since
2009, is a hired researcher at Institute of
History (CCHS-CSIC) in Spain. From 2014 he
is also a post-doctoral researcher in
Universidade do Minho (Portugal). He has directed 50 archaeological projects, including the
Campo Lameiro archaeological work. He also
participated in several projects related to rock
art in Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Chile and
Colombia.

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