CERRO ESTANISLAO ROCK-SHELTERS IN CABEZA DEL BUEY

The town of Cabeza del Buey lies on the northern slope of the Sierra del Pedregoso, in the foothills of the Sierra Morena, to the south of the district of La Serena (province of Badajoz). The Sierra del Pedregoso forms a mountain range featuring significant peaks, such as Tiros (957 metres above sea level). The strategic location of this town is of the utmost importance, as it lies at the junction of the regions of Extremadura, Andalusia and Castile-La Mancha. It is an area of wide, fertile plains, dominated by rugged quartzite outcrops. In the area, we can see animal species such as the black vulture, the Egyptian vulture, the Bonelli’s eagle, the red deer, the wild boar and the fox, in a landscape dominated by plant species such as rockrose, juniper and holm oak. At the right time of year, the plains of the area are occupied by steppe birds, such as cranes and, above all, great bustards and little bustards.

The oldest remains we know of in the area are those of Palaeolithic stone tools discovered during surveys in the areas now covered by the La Serena reservoir. However, the true prehistoric treasure of Cabeza del Buey lies in its exceptional rock art. There are currently around seventy sites with rock art scattered across the Tiros, Rinconada and Pedregoso mountain ranges. In places such as the Aliso Valley, Cerro Estanislao, Morro de la Venta, Valle de la Cueva, Abrigo del Águila and the Olivar del Castillo de Almorchón, the rocks bear pictorial evidence of the Schematic style. Geometric and symbolic figures, predominantly painted in reddish and orange ochre tones, are combined with lighter, yellowish or white colours, as well as dark, blackish shades. Cabeza del Buey is also home to a notable funerary site: the Cerroloboso dolmen. This megalithic monument, dating from the late Neolithic to the Chalcolithic period, around the third millennium BCE, consists of a burial chamber and a passageway built with orthostats—large vertical stones—whose entrance faces east, a recurring feature in such structures. Human remains have been recovered from within, accompanied by a rich grave goods collection comprising necklace beads, votive axes, arrowheads, flint knives and shells, which illustrate the ritual and social practices of its builders. The hill on which this dolmen stands is an archaeological site of great complexity, where two circular Neolithic huts, rock engravings, two further sites with schematic paintings and a prehistoric altar have also been identified, forming a complex that reveals the deep spiritual and everyday connection between these communities and their landscape.