Knut Andreas Bergsvik - Caves in Context: The Cultural Significance of Caves and Rockshelters in Europe

Published by
Oxbow Books, Oxford, UK

Oxbow Books and the authors, 2012

HARDBACK ISBN 978-1-84217-474-6
EPUB ISBN: 9781842179451
MOBI ISBN: 9781842179468
PDF ISBN: 9781842179475

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Caves in context : the cultural signifi cance of caves and rockshelters in Europe / edited by Knut Andreas
Bergsvik and Robin Skeates.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-84217-474-6
1. Caves--Europe--History. I. Bergsvik, Knut Andreas. II. Skeates, Robin.
GB608.42.C34 2012
551.447094--dc23

2012008862

Front cover: Kirkehelleren at Trna, Norway. Photo:Knut Andreas Bergsvik
Back cover: inside the cave La Garma at Cantabria, Spain. Photo: Pablo Arias

Printed in Great Britain by
Short Run Press
Exeter

Contents

Knut Andreas Bergsvik and Robin Skeates

T HE B RITISH I SLES A ND S CANDINAVIA

Clive Bonsall, Catriona Pickard and Graham A. Ritchie

Knut Andreas Bergsvik and Ingebjrg Storvik

Anne Haug

Hein Bjartmann Bjerck

I BERIA A ND F RANCE

Nuno Bicho, Joo Cascalheira and Joo Marreiros

Javier Ordoo

Pablo Arias and Roberto Ontan

Estella Weiss-Krejci

Sbastien Manem

T HE C ENTRAL M EDITERRANEAN

Keith Buhagiar

Robin Skeates

Giusi Gradoli and Terence Meaden

Dimitrij Mleku

C ENTRAL A ND E ASTERN E UROPE

Jrg Orschiedt

Galina Levkovskaya, Vasiliy Lyubin and Elena Belyaeva

Valery A. Manko

Contributors

P ABLO A RIAS

Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistricas de Cantabria

(Unidad Asociada al CSIC)

Edificio Interfacultativo de la Universidad de Cantabria

Av. de Los Castros s/n

39005 Santander

Spain

E LENA B ELYAEVA

Russian Academy of Sciences

Institute of History of Material Culture

Dvortsovaya nab., 18

St.-Petersburg

191186 Russia

K NUT A NDREAS B ERGSVIK

University of Bergen

Department of Archaeology, history, Cultural Studies

and Religion

P.O. Box 7805

5020 Bergen

Norway

N UNO B ICHO

FCHS University of Algarve

Campus de Gambelas

8005-139 Faro

Portugal

H EIN B JARTMANN B JERCK

Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Museum of Natural History and Archaeology

NO-7491 Trondheim

Norway

C LIVE B ONSALL

University of Edinburgh

School of History, Classics, and Archaeology

Old High School

Infirmary Street

Edinburgh EH1 1LT

United Kingdom

K EITH B UHAGIAR

University of Malta,

Department of Classics and Archaeology

Msida MSD 2080

Malta

J OO C ASCALHEIRA

FCHS University of Algarve

Campus de Gambelas

8005-139 Faro

Portugal

J AVIER O RDOO D AUBAGNA

Department of Geography, Prehistory and Archaeology

University of Pas Vasco Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

c/o Toms y Valiente s/n

01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz (lava)

Spain

M. G IUSEPPINA G RADIOLI

COMET Valorizzazione Risorse Territoriali and ISSEP Sardinia

Via Pitzolo 20

09126 Cagliari

Sardinia

Italy

A NNE H AUG

Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Museum of Natural History and Archaeology

NO-7491 Trondheim

Norway

G ALINA M. L EVKOVSKAYA

Russian Academy of Sciences

Institute of History of Material Culture

Dvortsovaya nab., 18

St.-Petersburg

191186 Russia

V ASILIY L YUBIN

Russian Academy of Sciences

Institute of History of Material Culture

Dvortsovaya nab., 18

St.-Petersburg

191186 Russia

S BASTIEN MANEM

Institute of Archaeology

University College London

31-34 Gordon Square

London WC1H 0PY

United Kingdom

V ALERY M ANKO

Institute of Archaeology

National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

12 Geroiw Stalingradu ul.

Kyiv

Ukraine

J OO M ARREIROS

FCHS University of Algarve

Campus de Gambelas

8005-139 Faro

Portugal

G. T ERENCE M EADEN

Oxford University

Archaeology Section

Department of Continuing Education

Rewley House

1 Wellington Square

Oxford, Oxfordshire

OX1 2JA

United Kingdom

D IMITRIJ M LEKUI

Ghent University

Faculty of Arts and Philosophy

Department of Archaeology and ancient history of Europe

Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 35 UFO

9000 Gent

Belgium

R OBERTO ONTAN

Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistricas de Cantabria

(Unidad Asociada al CSIC)

Edificio Interfacultativo de la Universidad de Cantabria

Av. de Los Castros s/n

39005 Santander

Spain

J RG O RSCHIEDT

University Hamburg

Archaeological Institute

Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1, Fluegel West

20146 Hamburg

C ATRIONA P ICKARD

University of Edinburgh

School of History, Classics, and Archaeology

Old High School

Infirmary Street

Edinburgh, EH1 1LT

United Kingdom

G RAHAM A. R ITCHIE

University of Edinburgh

School of History, Classics, and Archaeology

Doorway 4, Teviot Place

Edinburgh, EH8 9AG

United Kingdom

R OBIN S KEATES

Durham University

Dept of Archaeology

South Road

Durham, DH1 3LE

United Kingdom

I NGEBJRG S TORVIK

University of Bergen

Department of Archaeology, history, Cultural Studies, and Religion

P.O. Box 7805 5020 Bergen

Norway

E STELLA W EISS- K REJC

University of Vienna

Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology

Universittsstrae 7

A1010 Wien

Austria

Preface

Caves and rockshelters are found all over Europe, and have frequently been occupied by human groups, from prehistory right up to the present day. Some appear to have only traces of short occupations, while others contain deep cultural deposits, indicating longer and multiple occupations. Above all, there is great variability in their human use, both secular and sacred. The aim of this book, then, is to explore the multiple significances of these natural places in a range of chronological, spatial, and cultural contexts across Europe.

The majority of the chapters published here were originally presented in a conference session on Caves in Context: The Economical, Social, and Ritual Importance of Caves and Rockshelters, held at the 14th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists in Malta in September 2008. This session was organized by Knut Andreas Bergsvik, and the discussant was Robin Skeates.

The session was well attended and there was a great deal of discussion on the subject. Several key questions were raised, and many of them were related to caves themselves. How uniform or diverse are the categories cave and rockshelter? To what extent should we separate economic, social, and ritual aspects of cave use? How do caves internal and external environments change over time? What kinds of caves are not selected for human use? In what ways do people transform natural caves? What do people do in caves, what do caves mean to those people, and what do caves do to them? How are practices such as dwelling, production, and ritual performance experienced in caves by different kinds of person through all of their senses? What numbers of people are involved in different cave activities? In what different ways are the light and dark zones of caves used?