Extremadura is a Spanish autonomous community located in the
center-west of the Iberian Peninsula . It is made up of the two
largest provinces in the country: Cáceres and Badajoz , whose
capitals are its two most populous cities. The region, whose
population amounts to 1,059,501 inhabitants ( INE 2021), has its
capital in Mérida .
The region is delimited to the north by
the Central system , where the highest point of the autonomous
community is located, Calvitero (2405 m), and to the south by the
western foothills of Sierra Morena , with most of its surface
forming part of of the hydrographic basins of the Tagus and Guadiana
rivers , separated by the mountains of Toledo . The climate is warm
in the south and temperate in the north. To the west it borders with
Portugal .
The kingdom of León , under the rule of Alfonso IX
of León, conquered the taifa of Badajoz in 1230. After the formation
of the Crown of Castile by the union of both kingdoms in 1230, the
province of Extremadura was created in 1371. Extremadura is the
cradle of the most famous conquerors of the New World : Francisco
Pizarro and Hernán Cortés , conquerors of the Inca and Aztec empires
, respectively, and of Pedro de Valdivia , conqueror of Chile , as
well as others such as Pedro de Alvarado , Vasco Núñez de Balboa
andHernando deSoto .
Among the region's agricultural products
are paprika , tomato , cork , tobacco , and rice . The territory has
several denominations of origin such as Ribera del Guadiana in
wines; Dehesa de Extremadura in ham; Casar cake , La Serena cheese
and Ibores Cheese in cheeses; Gata-Hurdes oil,
Villuercas-Ibores-Jara oil, Monterrubio oil in olive oil and other
materials such as La Vera paprika , Extremadura beef, Extremadura
lamb, Villuercas-Ibores honey or cherries from the Jerte valley. The
tourism sector is concentrated in the cities of Mérida , Cáceres ,
Plasencia , Badajoz , Trujillo , Coria , Cuacos de Yuste , Guadalupe
or Hervás , and in regions such as Valle del Jerte , Valle del
Ambroz or La Vera .
Extremadura Day is celebrated on
September 8, which coincides with the Catholic feast of the Virgin
of Guadalupe , patron saint of Extremadura.
1 Badajoz
2 Caceres
3 Mérida
4 Plasencia
5 Trujillo
6
Zafra
Extremadura can be reached by any means of transport except by boat.
Highway , the A 5 (national highway number five, Madrid - Lisbon ),
enters this Community at the height of Navalmoral de la Mata , from
Madrid, and brings us closer to such illustrious towns as Trujillo ,
Mérida or Badajoz . From this same national highway we can use other
highways, such as the EX A 1 , which joins Navalmoral de la Mata with
Plasencia , or the Ex A 2 , which joins Miajadas with Villanueva de la
Serena and Don Benito .
Apart from these highways, there is a
provincial road network in excellent condition that allows us to access
any point in Extremadura with the greatest comfort.
Plane , we have
Madrid and Badajoz connected daily with two flights. In addition to
Barcelona , with weekly flights and Bilbao with three flights a week.
In summer it can also be reached daily from Palma de Mallorca . The
airport is in Talavera la Real , less than 15 minutes from the capital
Badajoz. You can also get to Salamanca, to the Matacán airport and from
there, by bus.
Train , the main cities also have railway service :
Almendralejo , Badajoz , Don Benito , Mérida , Villafranca de los Barros
, Villanueva de la Serena , Zafra , Cáceres , Navalmoral de la Mata and
Plasencia .
Prehistory
Human prehistory in Extremadura began when groups of
hunters traveled the basins of the most important rivers to find means
of survival, back in the Lower and Middle Paleolithic . From these
periods there are abundant remains such as hunting stones, carved in
stone, which correspond to the Acheulean and Mousterian periods .
Although the remains from the time when Homo sapiens sapiens appeared
are quite scarce, some of them are of great quality and interest, such
as those found in the Maltravieso cave .
Lower Paleolithic
The oldest evidence of human presence in the current territory of
Extremadura dates from the Lower Paleolithic period . In the deposits
—mostly superficial— crude quartzite tools have been found and, to a
lesser extent, granite, but no remains of human corpses have been found.
The technique used to build the tools consisted of hitting the stone
with a stone hammer or horn until obtaining edges, points, notches,
axes, peaks, etc. The oldest remains correspond to the middle phase of
the Acheulean periodabout 700,000 years ago. The oldest deposits are
close to where there is suitable stone for carving and building tools
and tools, or next to rivers and large tributaries. The areas with the
greatest concentration of deposits from the Acheulean period are the
surroundings of Mérida on the Guadiana River, the Zújar River, the
Valdecañas reservoir, the Alagón River, Jerte and El Sartalejo . The
most outstanding instruments of this time are the bifaz , the cleavers
and the trihedral pick .
Middle Paleolithic
Very few remains
have been found in the region and they are all from the Mousterian
period . They were created with a technique by which their craftsmen
calculated the size of the instrument before extracting from the matrix
stone a fragment suitable for the instrument they intended to make. The
most characteristic tools were scrapers , denticulates and points. All
of them are less heavy and less crude since they were built with more
advanced technology than those of the Lower Paleolithic . The places
where deposits of the Mousterian period were found correspond to those
of the Acheulean period, that is, near the rivers. However, remains have
also been found in low and middle areas of the mountains in Badajoz ,
which suggests that these inhabitants had a greater territorial
dispersal capacity, as well as a better adaptation to inhabit certain
places and obtain hunting, food and work.
Upper Paleolithic
During this stage , Homo sapiens sapiens —modern humans —arrived from
Africa about 50,000 years ago. At this time, the engravings and
paintings of the Maltravieso cave , a sanctuary of Quaternary art, and
the mines of Castañar de Ibor, all Magdalenian in style , were made.. In
Maltravieso there are engravings of the silhouette of a deer, various
triangles and other geometric figures, but above all, more than thirty
hands painted in negatives have been found, most of them without a
little finger. No remains have been found to suggest that it was
inhabited during this time, although from later times, so it can be
deduced that it was a sacred place, not a habitation place. The remains
found are grouped into three different types: bone, lithic and those
made with animal antlers. The axes found in the "Cabezo de Galisteo"
site stand out.
Neolithic
Although very few data are known
about the Epipaleolithic in the current region of Extremadura, the
Neolithic witnessed the emergence of the megalithic phenomenon and other
remains that provide knowledge about some modifications in the
subsistence of the human communities that inhabited the region. The most
important were the introduction of cattle ranching and agriculture ,
which were incorporated into the already existing hunting and gathering
activities. As far as technology is concerned, the most important
addition was the ceramic containers that allowed the storage of
agricultural surpluses.
The most recent studies consider that the
Neolithic in Extremadura began in the transition from the fifth to the
fourth millennium BC. C. Thus, the concept of Late Neolithic that some
authors had used was overcome, believing that the appearance of
agriculture would have been much later in this area of Spain. The most
representative sites of the Ancient Neolithic are the Charneca cave in
Oliva de Mérida , the Cerro de la Horca in Plasenzuela , the Boquique
Cave in Plasencia , the El Conejar cave in Cáceres and Los Barruecos in
Malpartida de Cáceres. The oldest agricultural evidence in the region
comes from this last site, dating back to the end of the 6th millennium
BC. C. The indications of animal domestication are weak, but it can be
assumed that it is contemporary with the introduction of agriculture.
Decorated ceramics have been found in these deposits, especially the
variety known as “boquique”, as it was documented for the first time in
this cave in Plasencia .
From the Middle Neolithic , at the beginning of the 5th
millennium BC . C., there was a proliferation of megalithism in the
region. There are few known settlements from this period, only some
data from the Los Barruecos site. The megalithic phenomenon is, on
the other hand, well known as there are large concentrations of
dolmens in various regions of the region. Groups of this type of
megalithic tombs can be found in Valencia de Alcántara , Cedillo ,
Santiago de Alcántara or Barcarrota , as well as other isolated
examples of great interest such as the great dolmen of the meadow of
Lácara. This phenomenon had a long duration in time, until the
beginning of the Bronze Age . Burials from this phase were usually
characterized by the presence of flint microliths , smooth ceramics,
and some plaque idols.
The Final Neolithic is best known on
the banks of the Guadiana, with sites such as those of Araya or El
Lobo, to which one could add that of Los Caños de Zafra . These
settlements developed from 3500 BC. C. and laid the foundations for
the appearance of the Chalcolithic , from the iiimillennium BCE C.
These towns had a true agricultural and livestock vocation. Its
situation, close to fertile lands, is on gentle hills close to
riverbeds. The ceramics are characterized by being practically
smooth, with few decorations and simple shapes. The most indicative
pottery is the «carenada casserole», which appears regularly in the
deposits of all the peninsular Southwest, demonstrating the
integration of Extremadura within a common cultural dynamic
characterized by the demographic increase and the increasingly clear
consolidation of the agriculture and livestock.
Chalcolithic
During the Chalcolithic or Copper Age, prehistoric human
communities made advances in the agricultural exploitation of the
environment and metallurgy was developed with the beginning of the
transformation of copper around the 3rd millennium BC. C. in Los
Castillejos, near Fuente de Cantos . There was a development of
social complexity both structurally and ideologically: there was
inequality of roles and goods.