Bronze Age footprints and shoeprints, celestial cults and pilgrimages in the Northwestern Iberia

Abstract

Although commonly recorded in Northwest Portugal, footprints and shoeprints are among the least studied engraved motifs from the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in this region. This chapter presents the results of a study of over 30 rock art sites, where more than 200 footprints and shoeprints have been recorded. Spatial analysis of the data reveals that these motifs were often linked with natural circulation paths between valleys and low-lying slopes, easily accessible and with easy movement, beneath steeper zones. They were also interconnected with sites that were well irrigated by watercourses owing from the mountaintops or with easy access to water sources. At a more detailed level, it has been possible to verify that the rocky outcrops with more footprints and shoeprints, i.e. those that were more frequently used, had engravings on inclined surfaces. On the basis of this data, several hypotheses can be drawn: these ndings seem to be related to pilgrimages to elevated sites and/or well-irrigated sites; the majority of pilgrims were children or young adults (due to the dimensions of the engraved motifs), probably as part of rites of passage; the orientation of the majority of the engravings suggests that these rites were performed in conjunction with celestial cults, in particular during the summer solstice.