Chris Ellison (asker) Mar 8, 2010:

Final Answer - forehead (in this case) Having spoken to the authors, they have specified forehead in this case, although as can be seen in references such as the RAE, "nape" SHOULD have been correct for a bull/bison, however, it seems to be used in general parlance (as in Heather's links) as "forehead".

Thanks very much to everyone who contributed to this rather knotty problem!

C.

Heather Oland Mar 1, 2010:

I'm in agreement with those who have proposed "forehead." See links:
http://mundo-taurino.org/alt_word.html
http://thor.prohosting.com/~dgr/glosario/anatomia.html
http://www.itla.net/Longhorn_Information/index.cfm?con=anato...
Best wishes.

Chris Ellison (asker) Feb 28, 2010:

@Tobias I was also hoping for a torero ;) They've got to be the experts!

Chris Ellison (asker) Feb 28, 2010:

Nape (neck) vs forehead Thanks everyone. So far from the general gist of the text I would be inclined to go with nape from the dimensions, as the largest paintings are only 2m long, I can't imagine the forehead being so big (1m long).

In another description of the bison it says that the body is twisted so that, although mainly in profile, the animal is looking at us. In this case the horns also "appear to be coming out of the "testuz"". In this case I understand it as the neck!!

Por fin, I will check with the authors tomorrow. Maybe it is interchangeable or used for both in some cases? You never know, sometimes the author is also mistaken!! LOL :)

Thanks again everyone. xx

Carlos Vergara Feb 28, 2010:

Muy humildemente pido perdón a todos los que se ofendieron por citar este sitio. Tienen razón, la traducción es horrorosa. A Rosa, siento no poder estar de acuerdo, pero eso no quiere decir que te falte al respeto. El punto es que la testuz del toro es la parte anterior de la cabeza, en medio de la base de los cuernos (http://www.burgotoros.com/toro.htm). Hay que considerar que los animales que son representados en Altmaira son los uros o toros primigenios (Bos taurus primigenius), que eran gigantescos (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bos_taurus_primigenius), por lo que su testuz bien puede medir un metro de ancho. Otra vez, con la mayor contrición, les pido me perdonen.

margaret caulfield Feb 28, 2010:

Tobias, I can't imagine horns sticking out from a NAPE. Pls see Chris' entry in the discussion.

T o b i a s Feb 28, 2010:

nape/forehead Any toreros(as) out there? I wonder if 'testuz' refers to a somewhat different location (i.e., Rosa's 'nape') within that context.

http://www.diariovasco.com/20080812/gente/jose-tomas-seria-d...

margaret caulfield Feb 28, 2010:

Carlos: Estoy totalmente de acuerdo con Rosa. El texto que has citado está muy traducido al inglés. Hay términos que un nativo jamás utilizaría.

Rosa Paredes Feb 28, 2010:

@Carlos The site you give as reference is badly translated. Just because it is on the net, it does not mean it is correct.

Carlos Vergara Feb 28, 2010:

Check this url:http://www.supercable.es/~conosur/toros1.htm

Chris Ellison (asker) Feb 27, 2010:

Now I have found this description of bison so I'm more confused :(

Sobre su testuz son bien visibles los cuernos

This seems like the forehead.

Chris Ellison (asker) Feb 27, 2010:

Images Thanks to everyone who's helped so far. :)

I've been googling the cave paintings from Altamira and they're all drawn in profile. I assume then that this must be nape?

Tx,

C.