The Coves de l'Aranya (in original
Catalan language
Catalan (; autonym: , ), known in the Valencian Community and Carche as ''Valencian'' (autonym: ), is a Western Romance language. It is the official language of Andorra, and an official language of three autonomous communities in eastern ...
, known in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
as the Spider Caves and in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
Cuevas de la Araña) are a group of caves in the municipality of
Bicorp
Bicorp is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Canal de Navarrés in the Valencian Community, Spain.
See also
* Cuevas de la Araña en Bicorp
Cuevas or Cueva (Spanish for "''cave(s)''") may refer to:
Places
* Cueva de Ágreda, a municipality ...
in
València
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area also ...
, eastern Spain. The caves are in the valley of the river Escalona and were used by prehistoric people who left rock art. They are known for painted images of a
bow and arrow goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
hunt and for a scene depicting a human figure foraging
honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
, the earliest known depiction of bees and the oldest evidence of honey consumption by ''
Homo sapiens
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
''.
The dating of such art is controversial, but the famous honey-gathering painting is believed to be
epipaleolithic and is estimated to be around 8000 years old.
The caves were discovered in the early twentieth century by a local teacher, Jaume Garí i Poch. They are included in the World Heritage Site
Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin
The group of over 700 sites of prehistoric Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin, also known as Levantine art, were collectively declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998. The sites are in the eastern part of Spain and contain rock ...
.
References
Beekeeping in Spain
Aranya
Geography of the Province of Valencia
Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin
Araña
Mesolithic Europe
Canal de Navarrés
Landforms of the Valencian Community
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