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A
visit to the cave, formerly known as the "Pozu de la
Cerezal," begins next to the Sella River through an
artificial tunnel that leads to what once was the bottom of the
cavern. Straightaway one arrives at the Chamber of Vulvas, a
small cavity with the "Paleolithic Venus" because of
its fertillity-related symbolism. Later on, on a narrow chimney,
there in an entertaining goat´s head and, beyond, in the Gallery
of Horses, a collection of illustrations and designs, among which
is a surprising representation of a cetacean, are distributed
throughout the entire cave and the indications on the guide-signs
state exactly where they are to be seen.
A visit to the celebrated cave of Ribadesella is worth it not only because of its treasured collection of impressive cave art, but also for the geological configuration of its ample caverns, stalactites, and stalagmites, and the fantastic perspectives of its narrow corridors.
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We find ourselves in the High Paleolithic, 14.000 years
ago. There are people living in the Cave of Tito Bustillo.They are not
the first known people of Ribadesella, since remains from more than 17.000
years ago have been found in other caves, but they are the ones who have
left the best artistic and archeological testimonies. What has aided in
its conservation is that the cave's original entrance in Ardines collapsed,
sealing it and keeping it intact until its rediscovery in 1968 by the
speleological group "Torreblanca".The inhabitants were forced
to live in the so-called "Ice Age" an epoch in which the planet
was cooling, and they chose the stable habitat of the caves.
The
climatic harshness impoverished the vegetation and provoked the disappearance
of those animal species not adaptable to the cold. Man had to become a
specialist in hunting wild animals and fishing in the Sella, as well as
collecting mollusks along the coast, as evidenced by archeological discoveries
of bones, teeth, harpoons, and shells.
If abundant remains of previous epochs have turned up in
this cave, carved in silica, quartzite, and bone, the most spectacular
discoveries belong to the High Magdalenian, of which there are only scarce
remains in the entire Franco-Cantabrian area. They appeared in the subsoil
of the chamber area and consisted of utilitarian and decorative objects
such as serrated harpoons, slender needles, scrapers, decorated spatulas,
beaded necklaces, glass beads, engraved plaques, and small pierced bones.
Standing out among all of them is a pendant gorgeously carved in the shape
of a goat´t head that, since its discovery, has transformed itself into
the symbol of the cave and of that prodigious Magdalenian culture.
At the end of the visit, in a gallery next
to what was the original entrance, awaits the Great Panel of
Paintings. Over a layer of red paint which was applied to the
rock in order to cover everything that was painted or illustrated
on it up until that time, a Magdalenian artist traced a mass of
horses, reindeer, and stags in black that has extended the fame
of this cave throughout the entire world, comparing it to
Altamira and Lascaux. If Altlmira has a deserved reputation for
the artistic stylization of its paintings, then Tito Bustillo
stands out for its realism an great vital force.
