Visual Hypothesis: Birth Sheltered by the Rock. A Photographic Inquiry into Ritual Iconography in Peñas de Cabrera
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17561/rtc.30.10261Keywords:
Schematic Art, Visual Hypothesis, Photography, Art-based Educational Research, Peñas de CabreraAbstract
The present research analyzes and visually represents the hypothesis of a ritual birth at the archaeological site of Peñas de Cabrera (Casabermeja, Málaga). The study focuses on rock shelter number 39, whose schematic iconography has been interpreted as a potential birthing scene. The primary objective is to investigate—through a photographic reconstruction based on Visual Arts-Based Educational Research (ABER)—how the biological and ritual processes associated with this representation manifest themselves aesthetically and symbolically. Utilizing the Photography-Educational Based Research (PEBR) method, a staged performance with performers was developed, documented through photo-essays and sequential series conducted during the summer solstice. The results demonstrate the capacity of photography as an epistemological tool to generate visual hypotheses that expand the symbolic understanding of archaeological heritage, integrating body, light, and material culture into a coherent visual narrative.
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