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The fossil record Iberian and Catholic saints (1)

For Heraclius ASTUDILLO POMBO, DMACS, UdL



Introduction to fossils related to the saints.

We take December to revisit the issue of those fossil lore Iberian Peninsula, had linked in the past with the Christian religion, through the Catholic calendar. And we make this choice for two reasons, first, because this month is for the Catholic faithful, one of the most important months of the annual religious cycle, as coinciding with the winter solstice and much the same way as did the pagans Roman to celebrate the rebirth of the sun course at the start of their annual cycle, also celebrated the birth of their deified emperors, Christians celebrate the birth of the human form of God, Jesus of Nazareth, which the new religion brought to the pre-Christian world obscurantist "light", is considered the central and most important character of the gospel narratives, to contribute to humanity is "enlightenment."

The second reason is that being the last month of the Catholic religious calendar, a large amount and diversity of folk traditions and para-type holiday, some motivated by the solstice and the other by the end of the production cycle, social and annual festival, spread around the ecclesiastical festivals, strictly speaking, religious.

The topic of the fossils associated with the Catholic calendar, it is no new since it started some time ago, in September 2007 when we discussed the fossil popular culture was related to James or his legendary horse presenting the various fossil Jacobean located by our research, in all regions English, presented and discussed over the eight parties that made up that chapter monograph devoted entirely to fossil Iberian lore associated with the saint was more important for its popularity and appeal to the English Catholics: Santiago, Sant Yago, St. Jaime or Sant Jaume, the patron saint of Spain and of pilgrims traveling to Holy Land or Compostela.



The "whys", more generic, the relationship between Catholic religious pantheon and the Iberian fossil record.

The extreme religiosity and popular credulity, associated with the traditional scientific or rational ignorance of most people, from pre-scientific societies Iberian past centuries, characterized by a lack of elementary knowledge scientific strategies needed to interpret in a logical and naturalist, the presence of the fossil record in certain locations, in centuries past, favored, linking certain kinds of fossils, with certain invocations of Iberian Catholic saints, and were they new establishment or simple substitute of old pagan gods, often pre-Roman origin.

If we explore the Iberian religious folklore characteristic of some rural areas where there paleontological sites, we can find that in certain localities English and Portuguese, for several centuries, certain types of fossils were closely related to certain shrines and some of the sacred images venerated in those buildings.

countryside shrines They tend to be more or less close to paleontological and in which in some cases, divine images were venerated, almost always of the suffering Christ, and in one case, the Blessed Trinity. In other sanctuaries, were worshiped images of the Virgin, usually in the form of the "mother of God", while in other cases, was venerated at different images of various saints, martyrs usually with a geographical importance status varied. But in any case, it was images that people of diverse populations distributed by the environs of the sanctuary, and honored him popular forms of worship, characterized by one or more annual pilgrimages.

Of all the types of fossil Iberian popular culture related to the s Iberian antoral Catholic, clearly different species dominated Micraster generally is M. coranginum , a very common species in the grounds of the Cretaceous. The arrangement of the ambulacral grooves of the systems in a cross which was the main symbol of the Christians, had to be a highly determining factor for linking people with a variety of sacred figures.
Image: http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/ ~ EH9K-NGT/geo/fossils_w/echinoid/Micraster_brevis.html


The reason more general to establish an association between certain sacred figures, and certain types of fossils, first, would the mere fact that the paleontological be encontransen near the shrines, in which worship of the image, a "holy" determined.
Secondly, another reason for the relationship, would be associated fossils, showing some physical property, usually morphological and sometimes color, more or less obvious and that is a landmark, which would associate them with a wonderful event, featuring the "saint" and reflected in the legendary biography, for the sacred invocation from the sanctuary exerts protective patronage of the area (See examples of emblematic cases associated with the popular tradicón the Apostle Santiago in the form of fossils was a cause of association: a scallop shell, snare tip of footprints horse, hearts, zucchini, of iron spear, etc..).

Both types of relationships of fossils with the sacred, both the proximity to the shrine as the expression of relationship with the sacred or indicative of extraordinary virtue, they would be explained in a clear, simple, emotional and simplistic, in a passage of legends for popular, etiologic and hagiographic, created "ad hoc" for some imaginative missionary priest or layman. These fantastic stories that sought to highlight the miraculous ability of the "holy" while its charitable and benevolent disposition toward humans, derive, in some cases pre-Christian myths and other regional, certain universal myths that were not always be evangelical or biblical origin.

not be ruled out in certain areas and localities, clear evidence or the possibility of Christianizing appropriate adaptive changes, designed to replace old pre-Christian cults and explanatory legends to assimilate old pagan Preexisting popular religiosity of the people who lived in those same places, officially instituted before Christianity.

In the past, was very frequent popular association of the fossil shells of marine aspect, as were those of bivalves, brachiopods and gastropods, with some saints who were associated with aquatic wonders such as stone boats that sail the sea carrying their relics, miracles sprout sources , appear lakes, etc.

Pictured fossil bivalve shell venerated, one of the most typical symbols of St. James.

Image: http://www.educarex.es/bancoimagenes/ArchivosImagenes/DVD06/CD05/9543__57_a_1.jpg

The ancient custom human, aiming to involve foreign objects of unknown origin were discovered in their environment, with some of the older sacred entities, medium or younger made up their ethnic religious pantheon, particularly, in the opinion of anthropologists and psychologists, is a constant which arises from the cultural ancestral psychological need to be explained, understandably, the origin of all that exists in their environment, albeit magical and legendary, the only or the most comprehensive of the forms for the primitive-minded individuals , arational and naturalistic, pre-scientific societies successive members of the Peninsula.

also comes from the psychological need to dispose of material, related to forces or supernatural powers that provide some form of control over some disturbing developments or risks to the individual and the community. So that this state of knowledge of causes and apparent control of threats, would get to provide individuals and the community, a sense of security and peace of mind, when society lacks the intellectual and material resources that could meet the same human psychological needs , through more rational, modern science and technology.

Certain types of nummulites , medium or large and more or less flattened, and some other foraminifera with the same characteristics, all coin-like stone, are the kinds of fossils that are most commonly associated with shrines dedicated to St. Lucia and the Virgin Mary.
In the picture, gravel and gravel formed exclusively by accumulation of numerous fossilized shells nummulites, existing in a stretch of road from the chapel of Santa Anna to the passage of Cabrafiga, in the municipality of Susqueda in the region of La Selva

Image: http://www.senderisme.tk/wp-content/fotos/far/nummulites.jpg

In our particular case, the type of items "foreign" environment that should be inculturated to be socialized and made sacred by the community, have proven to be certain types of fossils, especially favorable for this type of sociocultural assimilatory process, by its own special characteristics morphology that could be interpreted by people of primitive mentality, fabulous pre-scientific, as genuine "signs", "brands" or "signals" given by God, so that these objects express the human relationship with the sacred and for those able to recognize them.

From the perspective of popular magical-religious devotion, typically "nice" and "scapegoat", the object representative of or relating to the sacred figure (image, relic, medal, ribbon, fossil-amulet) can replace at least in part, the character portrayed (sacred figure) and also acquire, at least in part, his supernatural powers. This is possible, because there is the popular imagination, some kind of extraordinary relationship between the objects venerated and character that are related and they represent, considering this relationship as a conduit for giving intercom human needs, more specific to the nuclear-revered sacred object and revered character superhuman abilities that are related to or which represent supernatural powers which can benefit through the activities of worship, propitiatory purposes, that he surrender, daily individual and private way, or annually on a collective and public, move to the sanctuary that has been assigned, almost always, on its own miraculous choice.

In some English cities, the ancient religious traditions have been preserved to the present, but partly or wholly deconsecrated, held in the form of leisure behavior, unrelated to the beliefs and practices religious old.
In the picture, you can see a group of hikers trying to discover some of the lowercase " Estrelleta of Mare", which today still be found because it says that "bring good luck" and that after mass gathering ever devoted, and today they are rare.
In the background, you can see the building of the shrine of the "Mare de Deu de la Providence" or "Mig Camí", located in the municipality of Tortosa (Tarragona)

Image: Photography Vilaró Emili http://www.evilfoto.es/fotos/kdd_exposicion_acuatica/2007_07_08_img_9946.jpg

Sources:

- Barros, Carlos. 1999. "The humanization of nature in the Middle Ages" , Valladolid. Middle Ages, No. 2, pp. 169-193.
- Baucon, Andrea et alii. "Principles of Ichnoarchaeology : new frontiers for Studying past times" Studi Trentini di Scienze Naturali, Trento, Acta Geologica, 83, pp. 43-72.
- Frazer, James George. 2006. The Golden Bough . Mexico, Fondo de Cultura Economica
- Kunz, George Frederick. 1997. The Magic of Jewels and Charms . Mineola, New York. Dover Publications,
- Schmitt, Jean-Claude. 1992. History superstition. Barcelona. Critical.