On the plan proposed by
André Leroi-Gourhan, La Pasiega can be taken as a good example of the "Cave as Sanctuary", or to be more precise as a collection of sanctuaries of different epochs, arranged according to certain models. In fact this idea developed in the thoughts of the distinguished
French prehistorian precisely when he visited the Cantabrian caves, while he was participating in a group of foreign investigators who were excavating in the cave of El Pendo during the 1950s. "I can definitely confirm that the study of the rock art of northern Spain was decisive in the master's ideas, which since then have become famous through his many publications." For Leroi-Gourhan, this type of cave has a rather complex spatial or topographical hierarchy in which it is possible to discern principal groups of animals (
bos facing
equus, forming a duality), which occupy the most conspicuous or preferred areas, complemented by secondary animals (deer, goat, etc.) and other more occasional species which however fulfil their subsidiary function: on the other hand it is usual that the idiomorphic symbols appear in peripheral or marginal areas, or in those which are difficult to reach: Animals and symbols correspond, therefore, to the same basic formulae, logically binary and even defended by the fact that animals of the same species appear frequently in pairs, male and female, though the
dispositivo is so complex that we ought not suppose an explanation purely based in the symbolism of fertility; the first element is the presence of two species A-B (horse-bison); confronted with two types of signs, masculine and feminine, an attempt to attribute to the horse and bison the same symbolic value or, at least, a bivalency of the same kind as that of the symbols of the two categories (S1 and S2) It is supposed that there are exceptions to this rule, many variants which depend on regions and epochs, the significance of which is not entirely clear in its general outline, but which should be explained in a particular way, also at La Pasiega. Joaquín González Echegaray and later his fellow-workers have made various counts of the species of animal represented, one of which reckoned more than 700 painted forms in this cave, among others: 97 deer (69 females and 28 males), 80 horses, 32
ibex, 31 cattle (17 bison and 14
aurochs), two
reindeer, a carnivorous animal, a
chamois, a
megaloceros, a bird and a fish; also there may be a
mammoth and about 40 quadrupeds not clearly identified; also the idiomorphs, such as roof-shaped and other surprisingly varied symbols (more than 130), and very often including various anthropomorphs and hundreds of marks and partly erased traces.
Gallery A, 1st Sanctuary To get into Gallery A it is necessary to descend by a little well, but originally one could go in by another entrance which, however, is now thoroughly blocked by
stalactites and by collapses from outside. The gallery runs to a depth of 95 meters (from the present entrance), but it gets narrower and it is not possible to know whether it continues beyond. Entering into the cave, one passes a blocked entrance on the right, and between 60 and 70 meters depth appears the connection to Gallery B, slightly before the most interesting collection of pictures. Then at a bit more than 75 meters it seems that the sanctuary (properly so-called) begins, with more than 50 deer (the majority female), the horses about half that number, and the cattle (aurochs and bison) fewer, strategically placed dominating the most visible places. In this sanctuary there have been found an anthropomorph, a
vulva, linear and dotted symbols, a square and a great quantity of tectiforms, about as many as the deer. The paintings can be put together in various groups, paying attention, above all, to dating criteria, but also technical and thematic sequence which unfolds like clockwork. These groups seem schematized with the semiotic zoological conventions unravelled by Leroi-Gourhan. The
First Large Group is on the left hand wall of the gallery, including figures arranged as a double frieze with numerous deer, mostly female, and also plenty of horses and a bison which is at the centre of the composition. Between them are symbols which stress the association of the vulva and the rod, the male-female distinction. The group brings out the theme of Bison-Horse which can also be interpreted as the same type of dualism. The group is completed by another little group of horses, the remaining animals being in the centre and the upper part of the frieze, where there are only hinds and idiomorphs. The techniques of execution include outlines for hinds and bison, linear drawing (between outline and modelling) and, only in two places,
partial tinta plana (selective infilling) is used (for the heads of certain hinds). The dominant color, without any doubt, is red, but in a small way yellow and purplish red also appear. Engraving was not used in this group. After this one finds a series of groupings of less organization, more or less connected with these, on the left wall of the gallery: in them appear every kind of figure that, certainly, complement the following group. They are clearly dominated by deer in association with some idiomorphs and a few cattle (possibly aurochs), which seem to stand in relation to the horses in the group which next appears round a corner. The
Second Large Group begins around a bend to the left, in the end area of the gallery, where it becomes narrow: it brings together figures on one side and the other. This time the horses and the deer are almost equal in number, as usual at La Pasiega, and fewer but not less important are the cattle, two of which are bison. Also there is a possible feminine anthropomorph and about thirty rectangular tectiform symbols, positioned in the way that seems to be usual in this type of cave sanctuary: "The symbols, in general, occupy a separate space from the animals, either in the borders of the panels, or running into a niche or hollow, or a cranny more or less nearby. Even so, there are reasons to think that the signs are placed in relation to the same animals." The cattle are concentrated on the right side, together with three of the horses, forming the nucleus of the binary dialectic arrangement of this second group, and moreover, there is also included with them the anthropomorph, all surrounded by the typical peripheral animals (deer) and idiomorphs. On the left wall, together with more deer, the other five horses which apparently stand in binary relation to the cattle painted before the bend, which have been mentioned in the earlier description. At the end of the gallery, which is starting to turn into a narrow defile, there are rectangular signs on either side. Nearby, in a little recess there is a third group of lesser extent. In this are five deer, an
ibex and a bovid, all complemented by seven quadrangular signs, one of them shaped like the segment of an orange. The arrangement seems clear in principle: the pictures of the two walls form two confrontations, on one side the bovid with some deer and idiomorphic signs; this confronts the horses which, in this way, align themselves with the bison, and the rest of the deer, the signs, and the goat. All this large complex of paintings is predominantly in modeled outline drawing in red. The
Third Large Group is sited on a stalagmite formation which hangs from the vault (such as has the speleological name
bandera), between the first group already described and the last, which will be described below. The two groups, although they are near to one another, are executed in a different technique giving rise to the suspicion that they were created in different periods. There are about ten hinds, also several horses (though not so many), two cattle and a square symbol. Coming from the entrance direction, one sees first most of the hinds, followed by the association of the horses, below which are the symbol and the remaining hinds. The predominant technique, for its warmth and for its frequency of use, is the
tinta plana - the plane or block color – either combined with black lines forming an outline in a sort of two-color method (as occurs on one of the horses), or emphasized with engraved lines which define details (this can be seen on various hinds), or enclosed, with scraffito in the rock to add
chiaroscuro textures, as happens with a hind painted in red. Three of the horses and the head of another are black, the square sign is yellow, and the remainder of the figures are red. The
Fourth (and last)
Large Group, placed facing the group just described, is in a very close relationship to it, containing a similar number of deer and horses, together with a pair of bison. Among the various symbols an idiomorph in the shape of a hand is prominent, reminiscent of those at Santián, and a red sign which could well be meant for a grotesque bison head. In the central position appear a horse and a bison, forming the typical binary combination, at one end other bison and at the opposite end the remaining horses. There is no
tinta plana, no engraving and no two-color work: on the contrary, it is predominantly (more or less modeled) outline work in red.
Gallery B, 2nd Sanctuary Entering through Gallery A, after 60 or 70 meters, through a tunnel on the right, the first big room of Gallery B is met with. Fairly far away from the entrance which is used nowadays there are various old exits to the exterior which have become blocked with the passage of time. One of them has been made into an opening, but it is not known whether, in the epoch in which this area was decorated, any of these were usable, which would be a help in understanding the point of view which the prehistoric artists would have taken in conceptualizing the zonal arrangement and levels of the room's decoration. The pictorial density of this room is less than in Gallery A, with which it is partly to be associated. Among its depictions there is a roughly equal number of deer and horses, with a lesser number of cattle, following the customary pattern of this cave. But it is outstanding for the originality of some of its other figures, including a fish, a large ibex and idiomorphs like rods, key-shapes and an unprecedented little group of symbols popularly known as "The Inscription". Image:La Pasiega-Galería B-panel 53.svg|Panel 53 Image:La Pasiega-Galería B-panel 55.svg|Panels 54 and 55 Image:La Pasiega-Galería B-panel 57.svg|Panel 57 So far as it has been possible to observe, the arrangement of all these figures amounts to a careful scheme of introduction to the main panels of Gallery A, supposing that this might have been the main entrance. At the entry (from Gallery A) is a little engraved hind, and later, signs of the kind named
alfa by Leroi-Gourhan (that is to say, masculine), which appear on both sides of the gallery. Following the constructed entrance, on the right appears a fish, followed by a large male deer (stag) together with a little hind (both in black). Immediately before reaching the centre of the large room there appear signs on both sides, but this time they are of the beta type (feminine), red in color. The crowning feature of this sanctuary consists of three groups or panels which repeat the scheme of cattle-horse complemented by secondary animals or without them. There are three other panels in which only horses appear, several of them on the same stalagmite columns, others on the walls. In this nucleus a hand in positive depiction is emphasised, not mutilated, but with
six fingers!: a grill-shaped symbol, some unidentified animal engraved in striated lines and the only male ibex of the room. Image:La Pasiega-Galeria B-Gran Ciervo (panel 59).png|Deer painted in red,panel 59 Image:La Pasiega-Galeria B-Numero 50.png|Engraved horse,panel 50 Image:La Pasiega-Galeria B-Numero 51.png|Horse painted in black,panel 51 Image:La Pasiega-Galeria B-Numero 47.png|Male
ibex painted in black, panel 47 The techniques employed by the painters recall, partly, those of Gallery A (which is why they have come to be considered as related rooms): red painting, between modeled and outline, red block coloring (
tinta plana), with some internal modeling achieved by scraffito to the underlying rock and by the addition of lines of the same color but in more intense shades. The most important difference is the copious use of engraving, both simple and striated, applied specially to the horses.
Gallery C (room XI), 3rd Sanctuary Access to Gallery C is found, after entering the cave, by a way through to the left crossing Gallery D. Along there opens "Room XI" of Gallery C. This, in the same way as Gallery B, has direct communication with the outside, despite the fact that it is obstructed by rubble and rocks which have certainly been introduced. Once again, the perception of the arrangement of the pictures is changed for the observer by the problem of the blocked entrances, as we have noticed in the second Sanctuary. Leroi-Gourhan differentiates two clear parts to this sanctuary, located in separate places within the same room, and with different themes, technique and chronology. In addition there are two ibexes in the original monograph indicated at number 67, produced in partial block color by a kind of modeling and black in color, a method which is not found in any of the remaining figures of the room. The
First Large Group of Room XI is the one found mainly around the presumed original entrance, now blocked. It contains mainly hinds, some stags, various cattle and a pair of horses, and also there is a goat. There are other symbols difficult to identify, some seeming to be animals, others anthropomorphs, and there is a positive hand impression colored black, dotted signs, rod signs, and other idiomorphs, among which stands out the so-called "Trampa" (a kind of column which encloses, behind a symbol, a bison and a hind (more will be said of this anon). The arrangement of this group seems to correspond to a threefold or ternary structure with variations: bos-equus-cervus with various signs or bos-equus-anthropomorph with signs. The truth is that the complexity of this panel is great, given the concentration of very varied figures. Image:La Pasiega-Galeria C-Macho Cabrio.png|Male ibex painted in black with modeled lines in Gallery C Image:La Pasiega-Galería C-paneles 74-75.svg|Scheme of the wall depictions in panel 74-75 of Gallery C Image:La Pasiega-Galería C-panel 79.svg|Scheme of the wall depictions of panel 79 of Gallery C Clearly the dominant technique is red outline drawing, but in one of the panels is also found, for some deer, striated engraving of very fine execution: also, there are various figures in black. In addition, there is two-color work on one of the cattle, in which red block painting and black lines are combined, this time a repainting of different date. The presumed anthropomorph seems to contain up to three colors, not a very usual thing in palaeolithic art (red, black and yellow). There are some yellow figures. The
Second Large Group is around the access area to Zone D, that is, on the opposite side of the room. The species represented show predominantly horses, followed by cattle, and fewer but certainly present are deer and ibex (for which the symbols are complementary to the foregoing group). The symbols are of indeterminate number, and are of distinct kind, including key-shaped and feather-shaped ones, and also barred and dotted ones. The reduction in number of the deer does not happen in any other parts of the cave, where they are in the majority, whereas the proportion of horses is increased. Image:La Pasiega-Galeria C-panel 86.svg|Scheme of the wall depictions of panel 86 of Gallery C Image:La Pasiega-Galería C-Panel 86.png|Overlay of painting and engraving,Gallery C Image:La Pasiega-Galeria C-panel 83.svg|Scheme of wall depictions of panel 81-83 of Gallery C Image:La Pasiega-Galería C-numero 83.png|Bison in dark coloration from panel 83,Gallery Here the arrangement is also complex. All the idiomorphs are in the area nearest to the cave mouth, and the overlays show repaintings, maybe in distinct periods. There are three possible sub-groups of horses without cattle (only two of the compositions are the typical A-B which have been observed up to this point). However, there are plenty of isolated figures, above all round the entrance to the room from Zone D. The dominant techniques are engraving of multiple lines, as if striated, and black painting: the yellows, reds and
ochres are fewer. However, there is an example of the two-color work, in one representation, although it is not very prominent. As we have seen, the technique is also distinct from that of the earlier group and confirms the separation of the two areas within the room.
Zone D This is an intermediate part of the cave, which is probably an extension of the sanctuary of Gallery C, like a 'grey area', with much fewer and more sporadic images among which there is little coherency, apart from a pair of small groups which continue to repeat the theme of the cattle and horse dualism.
Differences between the sanctuaries Taken together, one can see clear differences between the various 'sanctuaries'. That of Gallery A, which is the most substantial, has no engraved work apart from a few images in which it is combined with block color painting; on the other hand,
tamponado method is very important, combined with other techniques of painting basically in red; the ibex is very scarce, but the deer are almost double in number to the horses and five times more frequent than the cattle. There are many rectangular tectiform idiomorphs. In Gallery B, which has fewer images, one notices the absence of
tamponado, while engraving (simple or striated) gains importance. The deer here are fewer, except in the room which was found in the 1960s; and the idiomorphs are completely different, with the so-called 'inscription' outstanding for its uniqueness. Gallery C has, so to say, two independent sanctuaries, both with striated engraving, but while the first present images which are mainly red, in the second they are mainly black; here the goats attain an importance not seen in the rest of the cave, and the idiomorphs are fairly unusual, particularly those painted in red. Although both Gallery A and Gallery C have dual-color work, the methods are different in each case. ==The idiomorphs of La Pasiega==