Encyclopedia of caves and karst science 71
Further Reading
Apellániz, J.-M. 1983. El autor de los bisontes tu
mbados del techo de los polícromos de Altamira
[The author of the bison on the po
lychrome ceiling of Altamira]. In
Homenaje al Prof. Martin
Almagro Basch,
vol. 1, Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura
Bahn, P.G. 2001. Cloning Altamira.
Archaeology,
54(2):72–75
Bahn, P.G. & Vertut, J. 1997.
Journey Through the Ice Age,
London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson and
Berkeley: University of California Press
Beltrán, A. (editor) 1999.
The Cave of Altamira,
New York: Abrams (original Spanish edition,
1998)
Breuil, H. & Obermaier, H. 1935.
The Cave of Altamira at Santillana del Mar, Spain,
Madrid:
Tipografia de Archivos
Cartailhac, E. & Breuil, H. 1906.
La Caverne d’Altamira a Santillane, près Santander (Espagne),
Monaco: Imprimer
ie de Monaco
Freeman, L. & González
Echegaray, J. 2001.
La Grotte d’Altamira,
Paris: La Maison des Roches
Freeman, L.G., González Echegara
y, J., Bernaldo de Quirós, F.
& Ogden, J. (editors) 1987.
Altamira Revisited and Other Essays on Early Art,
Chicago: Institute for Prehistoric
Investigations and Santande
r: Centro de Investigac
ión y Museo de Altamira
García Guinea, M.A. 1979.
Altamira y otros cuevas de Cantabria
[Altamira and other caves of
Cantabria], Madrid: Silex
Jordá Cerdá, F. 1972. Las superposiciones en el
gran techo de Altamira [Superimpositions on the
great ceiling of Altamira]. In
Santander Symposium,
International Sympos
ium on Parietal Art,
1970, Santander, Spain, Sa
ntander: Patronato de las Cuevas Prehistóricas
Jordá Cerdá, F. 1981. El gran techo de Altamira y
sus santuarios superpuest
os [The great ceiling of
Altamira and its superimposed sanctuaries]. In
Altamira Symposium,
Madrid: Ministerio de
Cultura
Madariaga de la Campa, B. 2001.
Sanz de Sautuola and the Discovery
of the Caves of Altamira,
Santander: Fundación Marcelino Botín
AMERICA, CENTRAL
Central America, here defined as the is
thmus between the United States and South
America including the Yucatan Peninsula,
contains many significant carbonate karst
landscapes, with a regional karst area totalling about 431300 km
2
, or 17% of the total
land area (Figure 1). Over 90% of Central Amer
ica’s karst is in Mexico, particularly in
the southern and eastern states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas, Pueblo, and Tamaulipas,
and on the Yucatán Peninsula. Significant kars
t also occurs in Guatemala, Belize, and
Honduras.
Geologically, the bulk of Mexico, excluding the Yucatan, is related structurally to
North America and not to the remainder of
Central America. The carbonate rocks of
Central America range in age from Quaterna
ry to Jurassic, representing discontinuous
carbonate deposition over more than 200
million years. Considerable geologic,
topographic, and environmental hetero geneity characterizes the region, but Central
America contains a number of dramatic kars
t landscapes. These include cockpits, towers,
dry valleys, dolines of various types and sizes, cenotes, and extensive cave systems,
Encyclopedia of caves and karst science 71
