Neolithic people in the vicinity of Ronda

Way back in the mists of time, although geologically speaking less than a heart beat, the area around Ronda was filled with Neolithic peoples. We're talking about the original inhabitants of Andalucia, long before the Celts, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Moors, or us current lot.

Back in those days, about 5-10,000 years ago humans lived in caves, buried their dead in caves, painted calendars and creatures they'd hunted on walls of caves, even made small pottery urns in caves.

They were a cave dwelling society who used the caves to offer protection from both the heat of summer, and the cold of winter, and possibly from dangerous animals and other tribes.

Of course this story is hardly new, and most places around the world were home to Neolithic peoples at some stage, but here in Ronda and the area around Ronda the Neolithic folk left their mark.

Even now it is possible to see the remnants of their society by visiting the Ronda Museum at the Mondragon Palace, a fine building overlooking the valley below.

This same valley is home to numerous caves, probably the most famous of them being the Cueva de la Pileta which was discovered on private farmland at the beginning of the 20th century.

The skeleton you see in the image above is actually a replica cast from plaster and painted, and is available to view at the Ronda museum. It's quite amazing how well it's been done.