UDK 903’12/’15(46)“633/634”


Documenta Praehistorica XXXI 

Cueva de El Toro (Antequera, Málaga-Spain)
:
a Neolithic stockbreeding community in the Andalusian
region, between the 6th and 3th millennia BC


D. Martín-Socas1; M. D. Cámalich2; R. Buxó3; E. Chávez4; J. C. Echallier5; 
P. González6; A. Goni7; M. Manosa8; T. Orozco9; M. A. Paz9; 
M. O. Rodríguez10; A. Rodríguez11; M. Tusell9; J. P. N. Watson9 
1 Dpt. Prehistoria, Antropología e Historia Antigua. University of La Laguna. dsocas@ull.es
2 Dpt. Prehistoria, Antropología e Historia Antigua. University of La Laguna. dmassieu@ull.es
3 Museo Nacional de Arqueología de Cataluna. rbuxo@gencat.net
4 Dpt. Prehistoria, Antropología e Historia Antigua. University of La Laguna. echavez@ull.es
5 Centre du CNRS de Sophia Antipolis. Valbonne. France
6 Dpt. Ciencias Históricas. University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. pgonzalez@dch.ulpgc.es
7 Dpt. Prehistoria, Antropología e Historia Antigua. University of La Laguna
8 Laboratorio Arqueotecnia. Barcelona
9 Dpt. Prehistoria i Arqueología. University of Valencia. Teresa.Orozco@uv.es
10 Dpt. Territorio y Patrimonio Histórico. University of Jaén. moliva@ujaen.es
11 Dpt. Ciencias Históricas. Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. arodriguez@dch.ulpgc.es


ABSTRACT – The occupation evidence shown by the cave El Toro, is that of a unique stockbreeding 
community in the Andalusian region. The calibrated dates for this occupation period go from the second quarter of the sixth millennium up to the second millennium BP. There is also evidence of occasional occupation throughout later millennia up to the Hispano-Muslim period. The nature of this 
occupation is determined by the close link between the cave and the community which occupied it, 
both continuously and periodically. Throughout the occupation levels, the community’s skillful control 
of technical processes and its remarkable knowledge on how to transform local primary resources, 
have shown that this community reached a high level of technological development. However, its main 
economic activity was related to agricultural and farming exploitation, particularly to stockbreeding. 

IZVLE
EK – Podatki o naselitvi jame El Toro ka
ejo na edinstveno 
ivinorejsko skupnost v andaluzijski regiji. Kalibrirana datacija naselitvenega obdobja sega od druge etrtine estega tisoletja do drugega tisoletja BP. Obstajajo tudi dokazi za obasno poselitev v naslednjih tisoletjih vse do panskomavrskega obdobja. V vseh naselitvenih plasteh opazimo, da je skupnost vee obvladovala tehnolo
ke procese in je imela obse
no znanje, kako izrabljati lokalne primarne vire, kar ka
e, da je dosegla visoko stopnjo tehnolokega razvoja. Njena glavna gospodarska dejavnost pa je bila povezana s 
kmetovanjem, posebej e z 
ivinorejo. 

KEY WORDS – beginnings of production; recent Andalusian prehistory; palaeo-economy; exploitation strategies 

Cueva de El Toro is a cave site in the Sierra del Tor-have conditioned the flow directions of karstic mocal, a wide mountain range that separates two very delling. Within these, typical simas are found, in 
different areas: Mediterranean Andalusia and the many cases, old cavities, some of which were inha-
Subbetic System (Fig. 1). It runs along 27 km and has bited for long periods. 
some height bench marks between 800 and 1400 m 
above sea level. The morphogenesis of the Sierra is Cueva de El Toro is 36° 57’ 23” north, 4° 32’ 10” 
determined by limestones and diaclast systems that west, and at a height of 1190 metres above sea le


D. Martín-Socas et al. 
vel. From the access and entrance to the cave, it is possible to see the natural bed and 
the outlet of the river Guadalhorce. It also allows a view 
of the lowlands of the Sierra, 
where there is a suitable fertile area for various agricultural activities. 

In front of the entrance a long 
cavity of reduced dimensions 
is located. Following its tectonic and topographical study, 
this so-called Sima del Pasillo has been shown to be a 
continuation of the Cueva de 
El Toro, implying that they 
were once part of the same 
structural complex (Fig. 2). 

The study of both cavities has shown that a tectonic movement that affected the whole Penibetic System probably sank part of the original complex. 
Among other events, the fall of big blocks partially 
affected a sector of the interior of the cave that can 
be dated to around the middle of the third millennium BC. 

The consequence of this movement is the current 
disposition of the cave: its interior structure with 
large collapsed blocks, the formation of a sima of 
more than 30 m inside the cave, and its actual entrance. It has been possible to infer that the original 
cave entrance, used at least during the Neolithic and 
part of the Copper Age occupation, was to the south 
near the sima, since it is in this area that the most 
important stratigraphic continuity and the highest 
concentration of combustion structures associated 
with the Neolithic phases are found. Later on, human occupation moved toward the north of the 
cave, where the current access lies. It is here that 
most of the evidence corresponding to the societies 
that occupied the cave after the third millennium BC 
is concentrated. 

Five systematic excavation campaigns (1977, 1980, 
1981, 1985 and 1988) were carried out. The stratigraphic and the occupational sequences (2.40 m of 
deposit) correspond to different periods. These are 
structured in four phases that have been dated to 
belong from the middle of the sixth millennium 
back to the middle of the fifth millennium BC. Phase IV is the oldest, and corresponds to the Middle 

Neolithic in the conventional cultural sequence in 
the area. The following one, that corresponds to the 
Recent Neolithic, is divided into two periods: the 
earlier sub-phase IIIB, which would have developed 
between the mid-and late fifth millennium, and the 
later sub-phase IIIA, which is limited to the first quarter of the fourth millennium BC. After a hiatus in 
occupation, the cave was re-occupied (phase II) from 
the first third of the third millennium BC, according 
to the calibrated 14C dating (Fig. 3). 

However, the cave's final occupations are not as easily defined. According to the material indicators, it 
can be settled to the first quarter of the second millennium BC. Phase II is also subdivided into two periods marked by the structural change to the cave. 
The oldest (sub-phase IIB), which corresponds to the 
Copper Age, poses an evaluation problem associated 
with the alteration generated by the change in the 
general structure of the cavity, with an inclination 
toward the south, where the current sima opens up. 
As a result of this parts of the sedimentary units were 
altered. A more recent problem is that of erosion of 
the upper layers caused by speleological groups, who 
use the sima for practice. 

From this moment on, the cave was to be occupied 
only occasionally, particularly at the end of the third 
and first half of the second millennium BC (subphase IIA), the Late Copper Age, with Bell Beakers, 
and the Bronze Age. This occupational dynamic was 
irregular throughout the second millennium, so that 
the final moments of the prehistoric occupation of 

Fig. 1. Cueva de El Toro site. 

Cueva de El Toro (Antequera, Málaga-Spain): a Neolithic stockbreeding community in the Andalusian region... 

the cave of El Toro (phase I) can be 
placed between the mid- and final 
part of the second millennium BC. 
A similar situation, documented by 
scarce surface finds, continued during Roman and Medieval times. 

Archaeological work, including different analytical methods and excavations, was also done outside the 
cave, according to the requirements 
of the developing studies, particularly, on the plain located immediately 
before the cave entrance and also 
under a type of porch, also called viseras, which had abundant collapse 
material that seemed to be associated with the closing of the original 
entrance. In this area, different materials corresponding to the different 
phases of occupation of the cave were identified, particularly fragments 
of clay-pots with vegetable prints that denote the 
existence of dwelling structures nearby. 

The structure of the cave divides the interior into 
two areas: one near the sima (sector 1) and the 
other, connected with the current entrance, which 
is illuminated by natural light (sector 2). 

As a result of the excavation works, as already indicated, four main phases determined by the structural changes in the spatial arrangement of the cave 
were identified. Each phase indicates the differentiated uses that they made of the site during the historical periods. For the same reason, the two intermediate phases are, in turn, subdivided into sub-phases 
A and B, where a clear internal cohesion exists between the two. 

In accordance with this documentation, the first evidence of the occupation would have been deposited 
in a historical context where the development of 
agricultural communities had already begun in the 
area. Consequently, it is appropriate to place this location in the context of the beginnings of Recent Prehistory in the Andalusian area. 

However, at present, trying to include the occupation of Cueva de El Toro within the framework of a 
wide network of settlements in southern Iberian 
Peninsula is a complex task. The problem arises not 
only from the difficulties posed by the theoretical 
debate about the conditions and circumstances of 

settlement and the processes of animal and plant domestication, but from a total lack of some minimal 
levels of empirical data. A lack of systematic field 
work – filed surveys and excavations – the absence 
of well-recorded collections and of datings, analytical problems of sediment samples to determine the 
duration of the hiatus in the occupation of the different places, inadequacy of analytical techniques, 
etc. In addition, in the region of Málaga many sites 
have been destroyed by looters. 

There has also been a misguided tendency to recreate standardised archaeological and geographical representations, which has severely constrained analysis of the region’s first agricultural societies. This 
has created an interpretative flaw which, nowadays, 
and considering the importance of geographical determinism and the fact that each site is interpreted 
as an independent and isolated analysis unit, is difficult to maintain. 

As result, the standard interpretation is that the development of these societies was determined by the 
changes produced by new, external factors, by influences from outside the peninsular region. These 
would have given a new character to the local societies, defined by a significant economic value, but 
mainly determined by “type fossils”, especially pottery, such as the cardial in the oldest periods, red 
slips (almagra) for the intermediates, and ornamented and large receptacles in the final stages. In these 
later periods, a certain developmental level had al-

Fig. 2. Plan of Cueva de El Toro. 

D. Martín-Socas et al. 
ready been reached, which has 
been interpreted, among other 
factors, from the establishment 
of the first outdoor settlements 

– provided the last two periods 
were not integrated into one, 
called the mid-end Neolithic. 
It is not for us to discuss in this 
article the origins of the first 
sedentary formations and of 
the development of the first agricultural communities, which 
is the subject of future studies, 
but it is appropriate to point 
out that, according to the new 
evidence being generated in 
the whole southern region of 
the Peninsula, and especially 
in the south-western area, the 
dynamics of these societies is 
more complex and diversified 
than has been traditionally inferred. 

Indeed, the studies and datings 
of menhirs from different settlements in the south of Portugal (Calado et al. 2003a; Gomes and Cabrita 1997) seem 
to demonstrate that their development began from the 
mid-seventh millennium BC, that is to say, before 
the first signs of cultivated cereals and domestic animals were identified in the Iberian Peninsula (Calado et al. 2004). 

Although it is true that more evidence is required, 
the current data implies this, which creates the need 
to revise the traditional models and the interpretation of the transformation process from complex hunter-gatherer societies to the first agricultural communities. At the same time, there would have been, at 
least for this area (although this is most probably a 
common phenomenon and not unique to this zone), 
the independent development of the sedentary/settlement process and all its consequences, including 
the first attempts at cereal production or herding animals. This would have taken place in this region 
around the mid-end of the seventh millennium BC 
at the latest. 

For this last case there is a controversy concerning 
the chrono-cultural evaluation of the initial period 

of food production in the region, since the dating results have yielded extremely old dates at several sites; these include La Dehesilla (Cádiz) (GAK 8953: 
7670 ± 400 BP, cal 7574–5742 BC, with a correction 
that would place the site in the first quarter of the 
eighth millennium) (Pellicer and Acosta 1982; Acosta 1987; Acosta and Pellicer 1990). This was why 
the researchers proposed an autochthonous development process in the western area for this period. 
According to these authors, the pottery is the main 
indicator, and its development was interpreted as a 
result of a process of internal evolution of the epipaleolithic substrate of the region, prior to the expansion of the cardial horizon which originated in the 
Levant. Among the critics, Fortea and Martí (1985) 
stand out with their refusal to accept either such an 
old dates or the explanatory model. 

The problem of this proposal, apart from the aforementioned duality between the settlement process 
and the beginnings of food production, is that the 
findings in a large group of Neolithic sites in the re-

Fig. 3. Cueva de El Toro. Distribution plot of radiocarbon dates. 

Cueva de El Toro (Antequera, Málaga-Spain): a Neolithic stockbreeding community in the Andalusian region... 

gion contradict this hypothesis, and reconfirm the 
interpretation of the arrival of farming and cattle-
herding communities, or, at least, some of its knowledge (Zilhâo 1997; 2000), sometime after its appearance in the Levant. This would be in accordance 
with the consolidation and southern expansion of 
these communities which would finally reach the 
Atlantic coast, from the first half of the sixth millennium, in calibrated dates. 

As has already been pointed out, one of the main 
problems with the current evidence is that the number of sites studied systematically is very low, but 
also, of those published, some present dilemmas in 
their interpretation, whilst other unpublished works 
have only been explained partially or superficially. 
Thus it is easy to understand the current confusion. 
In the caves of La Carigüela (Granada) (Pellicer 
1964; 1979), Nerja (Málaga) (Pellicer 1963; Pellicer 
and Acosta 1982; 1986; 1995; 1997), as well as in 
the latest studies of the settlement at Los Castillejos 
(Granada) (Pérez Bareas et al. 1999), it has been 
possible to contrast the evidence and to confirm that, 
in the sequences, the lower levels of production were 
characterized by the presence of indicators such as 
geometric microliths and impressed ceramics, either 
cardial or made with dentated matrix, associated 
with others that feature the signs of what has conventionally been considered the initial moments of 
the Middle Neolithic. 

In the same way, through the traditional sequence 
pattern for the Andalusian communities associated 
with the cardial pottery, these were interpreted as 
troglodytic, their development being restricted essentially to the eastern area and rarely in the inland regions (Navarrete Enciso 1976). However, and in 
spite of the problems that the reliability of the published information poses due to the inconsistency of 
the methods used during its analysis (Pérez Bareas 
et al. 1999), in the last few years there has been 
new evidence which offers a different panorama. 
This new theory does not lack problems either, because of a relatively wide variability in the types of 
settlements, both in the coastal areas (i.e. Cabecicos 
Negros) (Goni et al. 2003) and inland – whether in 
valleys, on hill tops (i.e. La Esperilla) (Gutiérrez et 
al. 1996), or in mountain areas (i.e. Los Castillejos) 
(Arribas and Molina 1977; Sánchez 1999; Afonso 
et al. 1996), and across the whole region. 

In general, and considering the large sedentary settlements that are found in southern Portugal (Calado et al. 2004), these seem to coincide with smal

ler camps in the Andalusian region, usually located 
in small elevations and next to water courses, which 
reveal settlements of seasonal and periodic timing 
typical of small communities (although their real 
dimensions are difficult to determine). These communities, which maintained a close association between the number of their members, their mobility 
and the potential use of their environment, are characteristic of the social formations in these initial periods. 

Their location must be understood as being directly 
related to a subsistence economy, that is to say, an 
agricultural system derived from the available resources. Territorial expansion was widespread for 
these social formations that, little by little, consolidated and enlarged their production structures, at 
the same time as they took control of the whole territory. In this sense, they generated new strategies, 
which had the tendency to diversify the use of subsistence and primary resources. However, in spite 
of their widespread distribution over the region, the 
existing information is very scarce, fragmentary and 
impossible to contrast in a reliable way. In addition, 
the evidence is centred fundamentally on the results 
obtained in cave locations, in inland regions, and in 
mountainous environments. In consequence, they 
present an image based on the almost absolute prevalence of cattle exploitation, due to the presence of 
some differential features that are traditionally found 
for these populations in the other regions of Iberia, 
which does not necessarily have to correspond to 
the general norm for all Andalusia. 

The reason for this interpretation is largely because 
the evidence published on carpological remains for 
this initial period is very thin and refers exclusively 
to cereals, although the possible existence, in the final periods, of leguminous cultivation should not be 
discounted. The presence of hand mills, axes and adzes, as well as of sickle blades with cereal remains, 
indicate the practice of subsistence and complementary agriculture, which accords with the mountainous 
character of most of the locations published up to 
now. On the other hand, it is inferred that this agricultural system was supplemented by some other activities. 

However, and in spite of the poor data, it seems that 
the activity of the communities located in the plain 
areas or in the lowlands was primarily agricultural, 
cereal-based, perhaps of short-cycle rotation, where 
gathering wild foods and raising cattle would have 
been complementary strategies. 


D. Martín-Socas et al. 
The subsistence economy is, in general, an agricultural system derived from the various resources found 
at the locality, complemented with the continuity of 
previous traditions, such as hunting and gathering. 
In some areas, for example, the coastal regions due 
to their particular features, there was a tendency towards the use of marine resources, especially molluscs. 

On the other hand, and although the identification 
of the locations of the first agricultural social formations has been carried out by the presence or absence of the type fossil of the recipients with cardial 
ornaments, we know that in this region the different 
technical and ornamental expressions would have 
been gradually incorporated from the mid-sixth millennium BC. The rest of the tool finds were thin sílex blades of micro-laminar thickness, stone axes, 
and a few ornaments that, on occasion, were not 
from the same area. Up to now, it is not known whether the separate origin of these ornaments was due 
to the mobility of these semi-sedentary communities, 
or if they came from a short distance, via intra-regional exchange, either inland or in the coastal zones. 

The pressure that these activities exercised on the 
environment has always been overestimated. This is 
why the traditional hypothesis is that the introduction of agricultural production in Andalusia did not 
significantly transform the vegetation. This would 
have been more substantial during the Copper Age 
and, especially, during the Bronze Age. In turn, this 
would have generated a process towards aridity in 
some areas and of desertification in others, the main 
example being the changes in the southeast. However, research is demonstrating that the effects of 
the strategies related to the origin, development and 
consolidation of farming and/or herding in Andalusia begin to show from the middle of the sixth millennium BC, since it has been verified that this occurred in the surroundings of the Cueva de los Murciélagos (Zuheros, Córdoba) (Rodríguez 1996). 

Thus it would have been by the middle of the sixth 
millennium BC that the first occupation of the Cueva de El Toro had begun.The stratigraphy of the 
phase IV is characterized by a series of sediments deposited on the cave's base which are formed by a 
great quantity of collapsed flagstones, typical of this 
type of karstic formation. 

Taking into account the features of the different sedimentary units, a series of successive thin coal and 
ash strata were recorded. In some cases these were 

associated with large shallow pits, probably related 
to the use of fire, which unevenly affects the distribution of the occupation of the space. From their 
characteristics, and given the results obtained for 
diverse studies, the hypothesis is that they correspond to combustion areas related to the smoking of 
meat products in order to generate a surplus. There 
was also an outstanding quantity of burnt and dismembered human remains, in particular a jaw. 

In conclusion, this community corresponds to a society with some productive activities based on the 
raising of livestock, from which primary and secondary products could be obtained, such as meat and 
skin-based products. Hunting and obtaining plant resources would have contributed to stabilizing and 
supplementing the diet and to providing raw materials for the making of some products. 

Moreover, handicrafts did not develop significantly 
in this area, with the exception of leather working. 
Indeed, the signs on these items suggest that they 
were carried out preferably as repairs on tools manufactured elsewhere. Of smaller importance, the 
carved lithic tools reflect their use in the transformation of wood and plant fibres and clay or minerals. 

Therefore, the Cueva de El Toro was initially occupied by a community with a subsistence economy 
based on livestock exploitation integrated with the 
mountain environment as is that of Sierra del Torcal. However, at present, the presence of different 
types of oak woods denotes an important forest environment, although this has no anthropic influence, which implies that in the initial stages of occupation of this territory there were no woods (Fig. 4). 
On the other hand, in the Cueva de los Murciélagos 
(Zuheros, Córdoba), the thicket woods denote both 
a humid and thermophile atmosphere, and also the 
first stage in the degradation of the vegetation. 

This importance of livestock management is clearly 
reflected by the faunal sequence, which is possibly 
typical of the pattern of livestock exploitation in Andalusia during this period, with a marked presence 
of the caprines. Sheep would have been more abundant than goat by a proportion of 2:1, and pig would 
have been next in importance. The pattern of the 
mortality profile indicates that this was subsistence 
strategy directed to the consumption of meat rather 
than to the production of other products such as milk 
or wool. As for the contribution of the hunting activity in the meat diet, it would have probably been 
small and mainly comprised of hares and rabbits. 


Cueva de El Toro (Antequera, Málaga-Spain): a Neolithic stockbreeding community in the Andalusian region... 

This exploitation regime, basically oriented towards 
the generation of a meat surplus, through the and 
smoking of the meat (Fig. 6.1) to conserve it, steaking apart from the uses of the hide (Fig. 6.6), is suggested by the carved lithic toolkit production. 

The carved lithic toolkit production shows a high degree of technical skill, but it is also clear that the finished products were not manufactured in the cave, 
but arrived ready for use, which explains their continuous re-use (Figs. 6.2–5, 7; 7.2–3), and, also, that 
some were reserved for later use. 

This panorama is not exclusive to carved lithic tools, 
but can be extended to other items, such as the bracelets of various rock, or the malacological industry, 
for which there are no signs of on-site production. 
The same pattern can be recognized in the quantity 
and types of processed carpological products. 

It is evident that there was a level of dependence on 
external communities for the production of goods, 
which implies an exchange regime that, considering 
the possible origin of the primary resources, is probably connected in most cases with other communities in the same region. The marble bracelets (Fig. 8. 
2–3) and malacological records (Fig. 8.1, 4–10) could 
be examples of this. However, there is proof of the 
production of tools from bone (Fig. 7.1), wood (Figs. 
6.3; 8.2, 4–5) and vegetable fibres, although it has 
not been shown to be production intended to generate a surplus. 

The indicators of the Cueva de El Toro in phase IV 
do not seem to show the existence of a conventional exchange regime of inter or intra-regional character. It could be assumed that activities allied to 
the butchering, tanning of hides, and smoking of 
meat were to generate a surplus that overcame the 
necessities of the community that inhabited the cave 
and, therefore, that they were also exchange goods. 
It would then be necessary to accept that the connections recognized in other sites, where certain socio-economic situations and similar technical activities are observed, point to some social formations of 
tribal character whose mobility gave them a clear 
territorial control over the whole region. At the same 
time, this would imply a chain of product circulation, which has not still been well defined, but that 
seems to encompass large distances and where, undoubtedly, there would be an explanation for the 
significant development of the specialized handicraft 
products. This evolution would serve as a starting 
point for the important transformation that took 
place from the middle of the fifth millennium BC. 

Fig. 4. Cueva de El Toro. Antracological diagram. 
Indeed, this situation would have changed considerably, particularly during the last quarter of the fifth 
millennium, as can be seen from the fact that it was 
the moment of highest human occupation of the 
Cueva de El Toro. At the same time this process of 
demographic aggregation was happening in general 
in the whole region, together with a division of labour and a hierarchization phenomenon that somehow eliminated the previous organizational model. 


D. Martín-Socas et al. 
Fig. 5. Cueva de El Toro. The raw materials and handicrafts. 
The first consequences of this change are seen in palaeo-ecological indicators at the Sierra del Torcal. 

Thus, in Toro it is observed that, after a hiatus in its 
occupation, the cave was again inhabited from the 
mid-fifth millennium BC, in Phase III. 

As a result, there is a greatly differentiated stratigraphic development in the sedimentary units with respect to the previous phase, by a level of loamy, granulated, reddish clay, the terra rosa. This was not 
part of the cave's material structure, but was introduced from the nearby exterior zones in order to 
condition and to level the floor. This conditioning of 
the living space, in opposition to that in phase IV, 
extends to the whole of the platform that became independent as sector one. 

Directly over this level, six combustion structures 
are found. From their disposition, it can be said that 
they were organized in relation to the original access 
to the cave. Of these, five are defined by small spaces delimited by stones and forming irregular plans, 
although the main tendency is a circular or oval 
shape. The remaining one is determined by the construction of a small pit. 

In this phase, two clearly defined situations can be 
recognized in differentiated uses of the cave, which 
would have had clear effects on the organization of 
the space. 

The first, or oldest, sub-phase IIIB, would have been, 
according to the datings of available calibrated 14C 

data, between the middle and 
end of the fifth millennium BC. 
This phase is established by 
the use of the interior of the 
cave as a stable for livestock, 
which would explain, on the 
one hand, the distribution of 
the combustion structures directly related to the sector of 
the access area. On the other, 
it explains the continuity of 
that disposition, in such a way 
that the remaining combustion 
structures recorded in the vertical development of this sub-
phase are placed directly on 
the previous ones. In addition, 
there is the fact that certain 
tools related to crafts such as 
pottery or textile manufacture 

have been found in the same zone (Fig. 11). 

As has been pointed out, from the end of the fifth 
millennium BC the moment of maximum development in the Cueva de El Toro took place, leaving 
an imprint on the paleo-ecological record of the Sierra del Torcal. It would have been in this period, especially the end of the fifth and the beginnings of 
the fourth millennia BC, when the first evidence of 
the impact of people’s activities can be observed on 
the vegetation. This phenomenon is also identified 
in the results obtained in the Cueva de los Murciélagos (Zuheros, Córdoba) and in the Polideportivo 
de Martos (Jaén), where the first evidence of human 
impact already appear on the vegetation, generating 
a first degradation stage, as bush and heath species 
become widespread. 

It has been proven that the raw materials used for 
combustion were the same as those used for the 
byre: Quercus ilex L., Quercus coccifera L., and Phillyrea sp., which are very abundant species in this 
mountainous area. Nevertheless, the presence of 
other plant remains such as heaths (Erica sp.), lentisk (Pistacia lentiscus L.), and Pistacia sp. indicate 
a wider gathering of plants that were not located in 
that same environment, but grew on decalcified substrates, as in the case of the heath, or in areas warmer than that of the mountains, such as in the case 
of the lentisk, which would have been brought from 
the lowland zones. 

There are also some species such as Quercus faginea Lam., the olive, and other hard woods that re


Cueva de El Toro (Antequera, Málaga-Spain): a Neolithic stockbreeding community in the Andalusian region... 


Fig. 6. Cueva de El Toro. Stone tool assemblage. 
1–8: Phase IV; 9–12: Sub-phase IIIB; 13–18 and 21: 
Sub- phase IIIA; 19–20: Sub-phase IIB. 

sist combustion and burn slowly. In the case of the 
olive (Olea europaea L.), and that of the holm oak 
(Quercus ilex), their presence in living areas could 
have been due to two particular activities. On the 
one hand, the bush branches were gathered as food 
for domestic livestock and, on the other, the spare 
remains were used as firewood. 

It can be deduced that the landscape was beginning 
to be altered by human action, resulting from new 
economic strategies which would in time develop 
even further. These were characterised by specialized 
production, such as rearing livestock and growing cereals that would lead to a significant reduction of the 
vegetable cover (either that of herbaceous plants or 
of bush formations; simultaneously, species such as 
arbutus developed). Evidence of these activities is 
found in substantial quantities in most of the sites, 
from then onwards. This would have created a landscape of open areas, where bushes and heaths cohabit, dense forest areas, and enlarging arable land. 

Both lithic and bone production (Figs. 6.9–18; 9. 5– 
8; fig. 7.5–12) continue to be important in under

standing changes in the dynamics of the montane 
society, which has been observed in the strong development and diversification of handicrafts in relation to the small amount of evidence of those activities that would correspond to the gathering of 
subsistence resources. This growth is manifested, 
fundamentally, by the exceptional evidence of specialized handicraft production, such as textiles (Figs. 
7.5, 8, 11–12; 11.2), skin (Fig. 6.10, 13, 17), woodcrafts (Figs. 6.9, 15, 21; 9.6, 8), or pottery (Figs. 6. 
12; 7.9–10; 12.1–3), that seem to have been carried 
out in within the cave or its surroundings. 

This situation is not general for the whole period, 
since in its first stages a part of the cave was used 
as a byre marking a radical change from its previous 
function. 

The changes that can be observed from the beginnings of this period in connection to the fauna are a 
distinct reflection of the functional modification of 
the cave, which, in turn, is a result of the transformation of the economic system prevailing until then 
in the whole region during the Recent Neolithic. 

This can be determined by, among other factors, 
changes in animal management, where caprines 
were prevalent relative to pigs. This is already a development with regard to the basic level of subsistence and meat or milk consumption. Indeed, there 
is an important change in the pattern of the goat 
mortality profile: a high proportion of very young, 
new-born and fetal animals appear, such that approximately half the animals died under a year old, 
while half of those that survived were sacrificed before three years. This evidence assumes that the animals were not slaughtered and then brought to the 
cave to be consumed, but rather that there was systematic occupation by the living animals, which has 
been confirmed by the presence of a disproportionate number of milk-teeth fallen during their lifetime. In addition, the fauna sequence shows a slightly higher presence of goats over sheep. 

It is difficult to specify how many of the young animals were slaughtered rather than dying from natural causes, which could give an idea of milk production. Anyway, the evidence seems to indicate that the 
sacrifice of most animals would have been prior to 
the period in phase IV. 

On the other hand, the presence of a very specific 
butchery pattern for the caprinos, marked by a parenthesis in the mortality rate between the age of 


D. Martín-Socas et al. 
approximately two and five months, constitutes the 
most interesting phenomenon in sub-phase IIIB. Pérez Ripoll (1999) defines it as a pattern of meat production, although in El Toro it is necessary to add 
wool production, which has two possible explanations: on the one hand, that the mortality rate ceased 
or decreased as the animal grew or, on the other, 
that the animals were not in the cave during that 
period. With respect to the first of the possibilities, 
there is evidence that the mortality of young animals was high just after birth and in the first weeks, 
and although mortality is much lower after the first 
months, it does not cease completely. For this reason, 
the gap in the mortality of the young caprines of the 
Cueva de El Toro suggests that the animals were intermittently in the cave, possibly during certain seasons. This is confirmed by finds of worn teeth of individuals of nine to thirteen months of age. 

As for determining seasonal occupation, it is known 
that the lambing season can vary depending on the 
climate and livestock practices. If one keeps in mind 
what happens at present in the area, lambing can occur between August and March, although more usu-

Fig. 7. Cueva de El Toro. Bone tools set. 1–4: Phase 
IV; 8: Sub-phase IIIB; 5–7 and 9–12: Sub-phase IIIA. 
ally between November and February. As for goats, 
in the mountains, the malaguena produces kids in 
November or December. Data from the Roman period indicates that the most favourable time for lambing is from mid- October until the end of December, while for goats the main season would be the 
spring. The reason for early autumn births would be 
that this would allow the small animals to take advantage of autumn pasture and become stronger before the winter. 

If the animals were present in the Cueva de El Toro 
a couple of months before the birth season and a 
couple of months afterwards, as the bone deposits 
seem to indicate, the cave would have been occupied during the autumn and in the middle of winter. 
This phenomenon can also be confirmed by the plant 
records of this period. 

The study of this change in the management of the 
scale of animal exploitation should consider the factors that affect it, such as climatic conditions, the duration of the photo-period, the type of vegetation, 
and consequently, the state of the grass. This will 
allow for an evaluation of those parameters that at 
present are evaluated in the analysis of this activity, 
such as the length of a shepherding day, the distance 
of itineraries, and possible speed, always as a function of the different seasons. 

In accordance with the current data for mountain 
malaguenas (Blanco 2002), there is a clear relationship between the intensity of solar radiation, temperatures, quality and quantity of grass and the duration of a shepherding day. In autumn and winter 
these are characterised by an increase in rainfall, a 
marked reduction in the hours of sunlight, 5-hour 
shepherding days, and the fact that the average travelling speed is around 0.95 to 1 km per hour. 

This means that there would have been full mobility 
for a certain number of animals in the mountains of 
El Torcal, which would explain the effects of the first 
degradation stage of its vegetation. This is demonstrated by an anthracological diagram, confirming 
a process that has also been observed in the Polideportivo de Martos (Jaén) (Rodríguez 1996), where 
pastoralism was the economic base. 

The fact that livestock were kept inside the cave in 
the initial period is confirmed by a decrease in the 
amount, variety and quantity of carved lithic tool 
kits. Moreover, there was ovicaprine excrement in 
some of the associated living places. On the other 


Cueva de El Toro (Antequera, Málaga-Spain): a Neolithic stockbreeding community in the Andalusian region... 


Fig. 8. Cueva de El Toro. Items personal adornment 1–13 and 15–16: Phase IV; 14 and 17–18: Sub-phase 
IIIB; 19: Sub-phase IIIA. 


D. Martín-Socas et al. 
hand, the older age of slaughtered animals in the latest period implies the development of greater control over the livestock, and increased variety in the 
type of production. The use of the derived products, 
mainly wool, became more widespread and, consequently, textile production also prospered. Thus, before and after slaughter, the animals would provide 
secondary products of outstanding importance, judging by the evidence. 

Indeed, the textile production was closely linked to 
livestock raising, manifested through a group of 
weaving separators identified in El Toro (Fig. 9.2), 
as well as in caves at Nerja (Málaga) (González Tablas 1982), El Gato (Málaga) (Mora 1976), and La 
Murcielaguina (Córdoba). The use of these was not 
limited to animal fibres, but also included plant fibres such as esparto, which has been confirmed in 
different sites, such as the caves at El Toro, Los Murciélagos (Albunol, Granada) (Góngora 1868; Alfaro 
1980), or Hoyo de la Mina (Málaga) (Such 1919–20, 
Pellicer and Acosta 1986). 

In consequence, it can be said that the community 
that occupied this cave continued to be primarily livestock breeders and as such, there is an absolute 
prevalence of ovicaprines over pigs and bovines, 
species usually linked to an agrarian subsistence system. However, the consolidation of agricultural activities, as much in the production sense as in that 
of its profitability, justifies the importance that its 
products had in relation to the other resources developed in El Toro. 

Some interesting interpretations can be obtained regarding the plant indicators and their evaluation 
within the framework of the agrarian subsistence system. Besides the plants already mentioned for combustion purposes, on the one hand there were very 
few cultivated species, such as naked wheat (Triticum aestivum/durum), naked barley (Hordeum 
vulgare var. nudum), whole barley (Hordeum vulgare), and some leguminous species, such as beans 
(Vicia faba), and lentils (Lens culinaris), and on 
the other, also scarce, there were wild species (only 
oak (Quercus sp.) and olive (spp Olea europaea) 
have been identified). If the cultivated plants were 
harvested throughout several seasons and taken to 
the living quarters as clean grains ready for consumption, then their presence cannot be argued as 
dependent on the season. Moreover, it is evident 
that acorns are gathered only in autumn and, therefore, their consumption in Toro confirms the winter 
occupation of the cave. 

Fig. 9. Cueva de El Toro. Polished stone axes and 
implements. 1–5: Phase IV; 7: Sub-phase IIIB; 6 and 
8: Sub-phase IIIA. 
The presence of selected seeds for consumption and 
grains that were cleaned before their arrival in the 
cave imply an existing knowledge of the cultivation 
process. The plant indicators clearly denote this improvement in agrarian methods, particularly in the 
rotation of winter and spring crops to improve output, as in the case of alternating a winter cereal crop 
with a leguminous crop. At the quantitative level, 
the significant presence of closed groups of beans together with winter cereals in Toro can be interpreted as the remains of earlier cultivation of leguminous crops in the same field and, therefore, the remains of a rotation. In slash-and-burn agriculture, 
where evidence is scarce and where different crops 
have been grown, we could expect to find some associations such as wheat or naked barley with a leguminous crop, from more to less nitrogen-demanding, and from less to more wild. However, it is a 
hypothesis that has to be contrasted with an empirical base that at the moment does not meet expectations. 

Although leguminous species in El Toro’s records 
are too scarce to consider a regular and systematic 


Cueva de El Toro (Antequera, Málaga-Spain): a Neolithic stockbreeding community in the Andalusian region... 


Fig. 10. Cueva de El Toro. Pottery, Phase IV. 


D. Martín-Socas et al. 
rotation in Neolithic cultivation, this does not prevent us from thinking that this agriculture could 
have developed some rotation pattern in the cultivation of cereals and leguminous spp. The simple and 
continuous presence of legumes in small quantities 
at the sites in this period does not necessarily entail 
a rotation, but it outlines the existence of a cultivation system which somehow included this. If beans, 
lentils, or peas were sown in a ploughed parcel at 
the same time as cereals, it is quite reasonable to assume that these products did not have the same importance as the cereals and that their cultivation 
was closer to a horticulture strategy. If in another 
parcel legumes are alternated with cereals, the characteristics are the same as in the previous system. 
Therefore, we admit that the two systems have their 
own logic and their own dynamics, but they are not 
mutually exclusive, and, therefore, they would have 
been able to coexist until the agricultural system had 
become stable. 

Finally, some agrarian practices can be inferred from 
the presence of weeds, which should be analysed depending on the cleanness of the crops, although their 
state can be also determined largely by the gathering 
method. In Toro, most of the weeds are low-lying 
species, although they are mixed with taller ones. 
From this, a hypothesis can be proposed that the 
crops must have been harvested by cutting low down 
the stem. 

Although the evidence for this period from the excavations at Toro is quite outstanding, it cannot be 
overestimated, since this is an outlying, montane population, and it was a small and diffuse part of the 
great transformation that took place within the agricultural communities from the beginnings of the 
fourth millennium BC in the south of the Iberia. 

In general terms, this transformation was marked 
by the consolidation of the sedentary process that 
should be understood parallel to the considerable 
division of labour. The economic system would have 
become more complex, not because of a considerable increase in agricultural activities, especially the 
production of cereal crops, but also because new 
and unrelated livestock procedures were adopted. 
For these, the site at the Polideportivo de Martos 
(Jaén) is the best known example (Lizcano et al. 
1996; Lizcano 1999). 

The settlement process has to be interpreted as the 
result of a gradual structural reorganization of these 
populations, with a tendency to diversify produc-

Fig. 11. Cueva de El Toro, Sub-phase IIIB. Pottery 
and weaving separator. 
tion. This led to an increasing rupture in the previously homogeneous society, generating the mechanisms of power for the development of hierarchies 
and changes that would be accentuated during the 
third millennium. This transformation would be represented by a new settlement model, and more 
particularly with the appearance of new organizational centres, large specialized settlements throughout 
the whole Andalusian region. It is thus seen that 
there were signs of an increasing strictness and far-
reaching control process, more than has been observed in previous periods. This control was exercised 
from a power structure, where the settlement locations are determined by visualising the whole economic area and by the domain of the most important 
communication roads. These routes, which had already been used in the past for the same purpose, 
were axes of exchange activities and the exploita


Cueva de El Toro (Antequera, Málaga-Spain): a Neolithic stockbreeding community in the Andalusian region... 

tion of some specific natural resources, where products and raw materials changed with time. Silex 
mines and their exploitation have been one of the 
most important subjects of traditional studies (Ramos 1986; 1999). 

A more complex and consolidated economic scenario was, therefore, created. This would confirm the 
current interpretation of the role of the different 
specialized productions in this period and of the 
dynamics of an economy with a surplus policy aimed 
at exchange, at least at a regional level. At the same 
time, the aforementioned development of social hierarchy outlined by F. Nocete (1989; 2001) would 
consequently have placed cereal production in the 
third millennium in a dominant position. 

These sites are to be understood as a result of the 
phenomenon of demographic aggregation – such as 
would occur later, in the second millennium, during 
the development of the Bronze Age – which would 
mean, in some cases, the abandonment of settlements of the previous period; and in others, the modification of activities and the occupation regime. 
Settlements would become only occasionally or circumstantially occupied, particularly in the mountainous areas that would have then become considered as outlying settlements, such as would have been 
the case of the Cueva de El Toro. 

Consequently, a clear general reinforcement of production processes, and of food production in particular, took place from the beginnings of the fourth 
millennium BC in the Andalusian region. This yielded an important increment in the diversity of cultivated species, both cereal and leguminous. This is 
a sign of a sedentary life, where there is a strong augmentation of agricultural practices. 

An increment is thus observed in grain size and the 
development of a surplus, a larger volume than that 
required for subsistence. This would have led to the 
construction of large storage spaces, the silos, and 
containers, just as observed in different sites along 
the valley of the River Guadalquivir. This seems to 
be the axis around which the large nuclei of agricultural exploitation developed, implying that the settlements were located depending on the quality of 
the soil, both because of higher productivity and for 
the recovery of the vegetable cover in relation to 
the humidity indices. They were also located close to 
water sources, particularly in the outlet zones, and 
the countryside around Seville, Córdoba and Jaén. 
The areas beside the Guadiana, Tinto and Odiel Ri

vers were also occupied; the Morales site (Córdoba) 
(Carrilero et al. 1982) and the Cerro de la Plaza de 
Armas de Sevilleja (Jaén) (Contreras et al. 1985; Nocete 1989). This location shows the new aims that 
developed, particularly the tendency to settle on the 
best lands, near water sources, and to develop profitable agricultural exploitation. 

At the same time, there was a change in sheep herding. Ovicaprines were still predominant, but their 
flocks were being controlled by means of folds and 
the consumption of very young animals. This, together with finds of important quantities of tools used 
for textile production, like the aforementioned weaving separators, are signs of the exploitation of secondary products, such as milk and wool. This would 
confirm the hypothesis of a stronger emphasis on livestock profitability, at least of ovicaprines. Thus, settlements like that of Polideportivo de Martos (Jaén) 
were established in order to control the grass lands. 
This situation would continue in a similar way throughout the Copper Age, with variations in the proportion of animals: more balance between ovicaprines, pigs, and bovines. 

Fig. 12. Cueva de El Toro. Pottery, 1–3: Sub-phase 
IIIB; 4–5: Sub-phase IIIA. 

D. Martín-Socas et al. 
After this intensive period of occupation and economic impulses, the development of copper working at 
the beginning of the third millennium did not seem 
to cause profound transformations in the economic 
dynamics of these societies. However, a gradual process of demographic centralization began, along with 
a more exhaustive and hierarchical control of the 
territory. The result of this was the appearance of 
the first fortified towns and of small nuclei, specialised in non-subsistence activities, in various areas of 
Andalusia. 

In Cueva de El Toro this meant a less intensive occupation, which is confirmed by the presence of 
small mammal remains, mainly of nocturnal birds of 
prey, especially owls. This new socio-historical situation, shown in phase II, began in the middle of the 
third millennium BC, and is characterised by an important hiatus in the occupation. The formation of 
this phase reveals a natural sedimentary unit, with 
clay and a large quantity of small stones. 

As in the previous phase, this is divided into two sub-
phases, IIB and IIA, due to its inherent characteristics, which refer not only to the circumstances of its 
use, but also, as was mentioned before, to the structural change of the cave due to tectonic movements. 
On the other hand, the actual datings confirm that a 
long period, about half a millennium, elapsed between the one and the other. 

The evidence of these modifications is observed, in 
the first place, in the displacement of the living space 
from sector one, which had been dominant until 
then, towards sector two. Sector two, as has already 
been pointed out, is where the new entrance to the 
cavity lies. On the other hand, the evidence also 
shows that the occupation of Toro became less intense as it was inhabited occasionally and at specific 
times. 

The evidence is fragmentary, but sufficiently complete for several moments of occupation corresponding to the first metallurgic phases – those that in 
the area’s archaeographic sequence are associated 
with the Copper Age, the Bell Beakers, and the Early 

Fig. 13. Cueva de El Toro. Pottery, 1–2: Sub-phase 
IIIA; 3–8: Sub-phase IIB. 
Bronze Age. The material indicators (Figs. 6: 19–20; 

12: 3–8) demonstrate that these communities were 
clearly related to the hierarchical social formations 
which controlled the valley of the Guadalquivir at 
around the mid-third and mid-second millennia BC. 
Finally, in Roman times, as well as in Hispano-Islamic times, the cave was once again busy, especially 
in the late periods, as shown by several fragments 
of identified T.S.A.D. Coinciding with the Roman 
stage, the occupation would have had its maximum 
development in the riverine area to take advantage 
of its high agricultural potential. The mountains 
were, therefore, used for livestock, as well as for the 
extraction of limestone for construction purposes, as 
seen in the quarry identified in the northern zone. 


Cueva de El Toro (Antequera, Málaga-Spain): a Neolithic stockbreeding community in the Andalusian region... 

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