The traces of transhumants on livestock routes. Part I

According to the definition of the RAE dictionary, transhumance is “Action and effect of transhuming”, which leads us to the fact that transhuming would be, according to the dictionary itself, “Saying of cattle or their drivers: Passing from winter pastures to summer pastures, and vice versa” or “A person's saying: Change place periodically”. Over time, these periodic and/or seasonal migrations were tracing what we know as “livestock routes”.

Livestock routes are the traditional routes used by transhumant cattle, for their seasonal movements in search of the most productive pastures and for this purpose, they have been protected since at least the 12th century with the creation of the “Honored Council of La Mesta” by King Alfonso X, in the year 1273 (miteco.gob.es).

The importance of livestock routes since prehistoric times is well known, as important attractions for population settlement and trade routes.

Since the human being, probably more than 10,000 years ago, began to control the development and movement of the herds of animals that served as their sustenance, choosing to hunt for those pieces that would not mean a decline in the future of the herd and following the seasonal migrations of animals, these migratory routes, which would end up being “livestock” when the domestication of cattle reached its peak, became a key element for the development of human civilization.

Naturally, transhumance entailed not only the movement of the animals and the very people who herded them, but the herds were accompanied by small caravans of cars in which everything necessary for the maintenance of animals and humans had to be transported. Caravans that left their mark on the roads they traveled until they created, in some cases, real “lanes” through which cars had to travel without leaving them at the risk of breaking their wheels.

This is the case that we are in a stretch of the Cañada Real de Andalucía to Valencia as you pass through the vicinity of the town of Masegoso, in the province of Albacete, specifically between places with such suggestive names as Las Cañaicas and Vaquerizas, and where, of course, we also find a multitude of traces of transhumants.

In this area, in particular, there is one of the rest and rest areas that were being established along these roads that served, at the same time, as protection for people and animals.

This is reflected in the terrain by the presence of a whole set of structures made of dry stone masonry, forming large pens for the shelter of cattle. These fences can have an area of almost 1 hectare and have perimeter walls that preserve heights of more than 2 meters at some points.

The thickness of these walls is also impressive, reaching almost 2 meters; made, as is usually common in this type of construction, with elevations faced with blocks outside and inside and filled with smaller gravel between sides, without any type of mortar to help shape them, as we said.

If you liked this post you can continue with the Part II