Ordovician Ichnofossils and Popular Architecture in Monsagro (Salamanca, Spain): Ethnopaleontology in the Service of Rural Development

The municipality of Monsagro, a mountain location in Las Batuecas-Sierra de Francia Natural Park (Salamanca, Spain), has recently developed two paleontological outreach projects: a Fossil Footprints Geo-route within the urban area and a modern Centre for the Interpretation of Ancient Seas. They are based on the abundance and popular interest of Cruziana and other ichnofossils, which have been added as architectural elements in many buildings of the village constituting a curious ethnopaleontological phenomenon. The Monsagro ichnofossils are ex situ paleontological heritage submitted to non-standard conditions of conservation. Its scientific value is therefore limited, but its social value is high, and the support of both population and public administration gives the strength for the success of the referred outreach/geotourist initiatives. An on-site survey conducted with village inhabitants and visitors reveals their high popular estimate, and how these have contributed to increasing scientific culture of citizens and socio-economic development of this rural area.