🧭 Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula
Pla de Petracos – Abric III, a schematic rock art shelter in eastern Spain
📋 Fast Facts
- Late Neolithic to Early Chalcolithic rock shelter, approximately 6000–3000 BCE
- Part of a serial UNESCO World Heritage property representing over 700 prehistoric sites in eastern Spain
- Shallow limestone overhang used as ritual or symbolic space, not habitation
- Red ochre schematic figures with stylized anthropomorphic forms and raised-arm motifs
Pla de Petracos – Abric III is a limestone rock shelter within the larger Pla de Petracos archaeological complex in eastern Spain. The site functioned as a ritual or symbolic space rather than a dwelling, with its vertical to slightly inclined rock surface serving as a natural support for schematic painted figures in red ochre. The shelter's strategic positioning allowed visibility across the surrounding valley, suggesting deliberate placement for ceremonial purposes ...