El Risquillo de Paulino | Sitios Culturales en el Geoparque VIJ

The shelter which houses these paintings takes its name from its discoverer, Paulino Tejero Aparicio of Berzocana. It is surrounded by oak and chestnut woodland on a small promontory on the magnificent Canchos de las Sábanas from which an impressive landscape can be seen. On the quartzite, as witnesses of history since they were created several millennia ago, stand various groups of schematic figures representing people of different rank, animals, and unknown symbols. Among others one attracts our attention as it appears to suggest a human face.

The cave paintings of this shelter complement those already known from the same sierra such as those of the caves of Los Morales, Los Cabritos, and Los Caballos and in a wider sense those of the mountain ranges which form Las Villuercas.

This ensemble of paintings is to be found on one of the most southerly crags of the so-called Canchos de las Sábanas. Instead of being in a cave or shelter like other paintings, these are located on the surface of the rock which is inclined in such a way as to protect them from the elements. Owing to its wide field of vision and its domination of the valley, the site is clearly a strategic point for controlling and surveying the territory.

The paintings are reddish, dark crimson, and black in colour, and exceptionally white. They are in seven groups of human figures or anchor-shaped idols, cruciform figures, vertical strokes, stylised quadrupeds, etc.

One of the most striking paintings of this ensemble appears to be a face with strokes indicating the hair, beard, eyes, and mouth. Another interesting figure is that painted in white to represent a schematic human silhouette with a headdress in the shape of a lyre; it has also been interpreted as a decorated helmet similar to those appearing on stelae of the late Bronze Age. This is one of the details which suggest that this painting is of a later date than those of the remainder of the ensemble.

The existence of figures of printed “hands”, some of which are very clear, is also noteworthy although their interpretation is open to discussion. On the one hand it may be understood that they represent human hands, in all cases with four fingers.

On the other hand however, it may also be interpreted that they are partial representations of “suns” with some radial upward strokes.

The figures representing quadrupeds in the form of combs (pectiniform figures) are also interesting; some of them have long tails or ears painted in detail. As in some of the groups of paintings human and animal figures are mixed, they may depict hunting scenes.

Some of the paintings are superimposed on older ones, which would seem to indicate that the site was reused over time. According to some authors, they were executed during different periods of time, on occasion with intervals of up to a thousand years between some artists and others.