Roca dels Moros is a prehistoric site in Catalonia whose discovery in 1908 garnered international attention akin to the famous discovery of the Cave of Altamira. The painting known as Dancers of Cogul is the most famous scene depicted at Roca dels Moros. It shows nine women, mostly in pairs, surrounding a male. This has been interpreted as a dance by the females around the sole male in the scene; which has led to the panel being so named.
Table of Contents
S1 – Discovery
El Cogul is a municipality in Catalonia, Spain. Roca dels Moros or Caves of El Cogul is a prehistoric site which was first discovered in 1908 by Ramon Huguet, the head priest of the area. Roca dels Moros was the first rock painting site recorded in Catalonia. Though numerous other sites have since been recorded in Catalonia, it remains among the most prominent prehistoric art sites on the eastern side of the Iberian Peninsula.
S2 – Description
The Dancers of Cogul is the most famous painting at Roca dels Moros. It depicts nine women dancing around a male figure with abnormally large phallus. The women have been painted in pairs and superimposition has been avoided.
The scene has been interpreted to mean different things: a celebration of fertility spirit; as depiction of a dance of women around a man, as seen in other primitive cultures; and as a tribute to a prominent male. Apart from the humans, several animals have been depicted including an impaled deer or buck at the feet of one of the pairs of women.
S3 – Age
Most of the art at Roca dels Moros was created in the Mesolithic Era. The rock shelter was used as a place of worship for 5,000 years. The Levantine art at the site was created by the last hunter-gatherer groups in the region, between 8,000 and 5,000 BCE. Thus, Dancers of Cogul is around 7,000 to 10,000 years old.
S4 – Prehistoric Rock Art Purpose
S5 – Mesolithic Art Overview
Main Sources
S1:-
Hernández, Gemma & Hernández, Mauro. (2013). “Rock art of the Mediterranean basin on the Iberian Peninsula. From El Cogul to Kyoto.” Catalan Historical Review. pp 12, 15.
S2:-
“Mesolithic Art”. Boundless.
Hernández, Gemma & Hernández, Mauro. (2013). “Rock art of the Mediterranean basin on the Iberian Peninsula. From El Cogul to Kyoto.” Catalan Historical Review. pp 15.
S3:-
“La Roca dels Moros – El Cogul Cave Paintings”. Departament de Cultura.