The Levantine rock art paintings of Rincón de la Zorra, in Hoz de la Vieja (Teruel, Aragon)

Abstract

This article presents the rock art paintings of the Rincón de la Zorra, recently discovered in the municipality of Hoz de la Vieja, province of Teruel (Spain), in the hydrographic basin of the Martín River. The shelter is to be added to those located in the Valley of the Martín River, whose middle section was declared a Cultural Park, and whose common nexus of delimitation responds to the location of numerous shelters with rock art. While the number of figures preserved on the decorated panel is modest, some are remarkably well-preserved, including a series of imposing human figures. These pachypodous or Centelles type anthropomorphs are believed to belong to the earliest phases of Levantine rock art. The site also contains pictographs of smaller size, including a female figure, other archers, and a zoomorph. The characteristics of this new enclave are directly related to the Levantine art of the Martín River, extending this rock art territory to the southwest through the Armillas River, a tributary responsible for the impressive geological formation of Hoz de la Vieja, which is visually controlled from this new Levantine shelter.