On the fringes of Atlantic Rock Art: A multidisciplinary approach to El Riscal (Seville, Spain)

This paper presents multi-disciplinary research undertaken between 2022 and 2024 at El Riscal, the only rock art station known in Seville (Andalusia, Spain), a territory otherwise very rich in Late Prehistoric archaeological remains. Discovered in the 1980s and first published in the early 1990s, El Riscal presents engraved motifs not documented in other parts of southern Spain, where schematic-style painted rock art is prevalent. The set of methods employed in this research includes petrology, chemical characterisation (XRD, SEM-EDS), digital photogrammetry and digital image analysis, archaeological prospection and archaeoastronomy. The results throw new light on the characteristics and temporality of the site, with a pervasive significance through time. This, in turn, invites a new approach to the geographical distribution of the various traditions and styles present in Iberian rock art. This research also suggests that re-examining previously published rock art sites could lead to a better understanding of styles, chronologies and traditions.