Interpreting Sapiens Consciousness Through Paleolithic Cave Art

Author : Gary J. Maier
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2023-09
Category : Art, Prehistoric
ISBN : 1527519007

Get Book

Interpreting Sapiens' Consciousness Through Paleolithic Cave Art by Gary J. Maier Pdf

This book is the first to identify an interpretive path through Paleolithic cave art that can provide plausible meaning to the animal figures in the Lascaux cave in France. The artwork was created during a period described as the Creative Explosion, spanning from 35,000 to 11,000 BC. The author has found that the artists, or shamans, have left clear evidence of aspects of their worldview and by using ethological evidence, such as a bison shedding its winter coat to identify spring as the season portrayed in a specific panel, he adds a level of certainty to his interpretations. In sum, this book argues that the cave art describes the journey of the soul from the spirit world to the natural world and back, and that it identifies a spectrum of consciousness involving the five traditional senses: sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing. Moreover, the book explores the hunting strategies employed early survival groups which are depicted in the cave art. The role of the shamans' impact on the artwork is also addressed.

Author : Gary J. Maier
Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2023-08-08
Category : Art
ISBN : 9781527519015

Get Book

Interpreting Sapiens’ Consciousness through Paleolithic Cave Art by Gary J. Maier Pdf

This book is the first to identify an interpretive path through Paleolithic cave art that can provide plausible meaning to the animal figures in the Lascaux cave in France. The artwork was created during a period described as the Creative Explosion, spanning from 35,000 to 11,000 BC. The author has found that the artists, or shamans, have left clear evidence of aspects of their worldview and by using ethological evidence, such as a bison shedding its winter coat to identify spring as the season portrayed in a specific panel, he adds a level of certainty to his interpretations. In sum, this book argues that the cave art describes the journey of the soul from the spirit world to the natural world and back, and that it identifies a spectrum of consciousness involving the five traditional senses: sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing. Moreover, the book explores the hunting strategies employed early survival groups which are depicted in the cave art. The role of the shamans’ impact on the artwork is also addressed.

Author : John Henry Morgan
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 190 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : Religion
ISBN : STANFORD:36105124075651

Get Book

"In the Beginning-- " by John Henry Morgan Pdf

"This study explores the origins of religious consciousness by means of a systematic analysis of the ritualized burial of the dead and cave art as evidenced in Paleolithic remains. It is suggested here that religion is a natural manifestation of emerging human consciousness demonstrated by empirical archeological artifacts as an integral component to cultural evolution"--Provided by publisher.

Author : J. David Lewis-Williams
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : Art
ISBN : 0500051178

Get Book

The mind in the cave by J. David Lewis-Williams Pdf

The breathtakingly beautiful art created deep inside the caves of western Europe has the power to dazzle even the most jaded observers.

Author : David Lewis-Williams
Publisher : Thames & Hudson
Page : 350 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2011-07-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780500770306

Get Book

The Mind in the Cave by David Lewis-Williams Pdf

The art created in the caves of western Europe in the Ice Age provokes awe and wonder. What do these symbols on the walls of Lascaux and Altamira, tell us about the nature of ancestral minds? How did these images spring into the human story? This book, a masterful piece of detective work, puts forward the most plausible explanation yet.

Author : Karen A. Haworth,Terry J. Prewitt
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Page : 173 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2020-09-22
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781538142899

Get Book

The Evolution of Human Consciousness and Linguistic Behavior by Karen A. Haworth,Terry J. Prewitt Pdf

Drawing from the disciplines of cognitive science, Paleolithic anthropology, art history, and semiotics, Karen A. Haworth and Terry J. Prewitt offer a novel discussion of the origins of language, based primarily in the distinction of holistic versus analytical cognitive processing. Also, by employing a refined view of human symboling capacities grounded in the writings of C. S. Peirce, they provide a short but comprehensive explanation of what the artifacts and art of the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods suggest about language origins. Their interpretation supports a semiotic argument that “iconic and indexical logical modeling” precedes human elaboration of experience by symbolic reference in words or propositions, and ultimately in what Peirce called “the argument.” Further, they suggest that the use of symbols to model the world developed rapidly between about 20,000 and 10,000 years ago, and has the effect of giving emphasis to analytic thought as the dominant mode of human consciousness. Rather than seeing symbols as the impetus for human logic, they argue for presymbolic elements of logic in Peirce’s sign categories shared widely by humans and other animals. Intended readers are scholars in philosophy, anthropology, psychology, linguistics, and semiotics, as well as interested nonspecialists. The presentation is also complemented with brief personal narratives, intended to offer background that helps make a dense academic argument more accessible to the widest audience possible. The authors’ insights into the basis for language have ramifications for any number of other fields: education, psychology, philosophy, prehistory, and art, to name a few.

Author : Michael A. Susko
Publisher : AllrOneofUs Publishing
Page : 69 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2020-10-15
Category : Art
ISBN : 9781393818359

Get Book

The Generation of Life by Michael A. Susko Pdf

This work explores the meaning of imagery found on rocks, especially from deep caves of the paleolithic era. It approaches the problem of interpretation by focusing on a key concept, that art and ritual generate life. A novel hypothesis is also offered that creativity emerges from a tension between chaotic elements and more formed shapes. Past interpretive frames, statistical studies, and indigenous parallels are summoned to examine these archetypal expressions. We invite you to explore indigenous imagery as an adventure that opens up your own spiritual dimension and earliest roots.

Author : J. F. Pagel
Publisher : Academic Press
Page : 244 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2014-02-05
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9780124047105

Get Book

Dream Science by J. F. Pagel Pdf

Dreaming is the cognitive state uniquely experienced by humans and integral to our creativity, the survival characteristic that allows for the rapid change and innovation that defines our species and provides the basis for our art, philosophy, science, and humanity. Yet there is little empiric or scientific evidence supporting the generally accepted dream-based theories of neuroconsciousness. Dream Science examines the cognitive science of dreaming and offers an evidence-based view of the phenomenon. Today, such evidence-based breakthroughs in the field of dream science are altering our understanding of consciousness. Different forms of dreaming consciousness occur throughout sleep, and dreamlike states extend into wake. Each dream state is developed on a framework of memories, emotions, representational images, and electrophysiology, amenable to studies utilizing emerging and evolving technology. Dream Science discusses basic insights into the scientific study of dreaming, including the limits to traditional Freudian-based dream theory and the more modern evidence-based science. It also includes coverage of the processes of memory and parasomnias, the sleep-disturbance diagnoses related to dreaming. This comprehensive book is a scientific exploration of the mind-brain interface and a look into the future of dream science. Provides a more evidence-based approach than any other work on the market Single source of integrated information on all aspects of dream science makes this a critical time-saving reference for researchers and clinicians Authored by one of the leaders in the field of dream research

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2009
Category : Electronic
ISBN : OCLC:959179678

Get Book

The Mind in the Cave by Anonim Pdf

Author : Günter Berghaus
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 278 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2004-04-30
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780313059575

Get Book

New Perspectives on Prehistoric Art by Günter Berghaus Pdf

Following the discovery of Franco-Caribbean cave art in the nineteenth century, standard interpretations of these works usually revolved around hunting, magic, and fertility cults. Orthodox positions such as these have weighed heavily on later generations of art historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists, even those whose views dissented from those of their predecessors. In the last few decades, however, new approaches to cave art, often based on discoveries made in Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, and the Arctic region, have produced new insights into possible meanings and functions of prehistoric paintings and sculptures. This new collection of essays explores these insights, gathering the observations of eight experts from a variety of disciplines, and examining some of the social and spiritual functions of a variety of artistic genres ranging from 40,000 B.C. to 5,000 B.C. These insights, which derive from evolutionary biology, feminist scholarship, ritual studies, and new modes of anthropology, argue collectively that prehistoric art was a culture-specific form of communication that should be interpreted in the social context of early hunger-gatherer societies and should not be measured with the criteria and paradigms of modern art. Essential reading for anyone interested in prehistoric art or its cultural implications, this volume represents a bold step forward in the research and analysis of the very first artists.

Author : David Lewis-Williams,David Pearce
Publisher : Thames & Hudson
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2005-10-01
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780500770450

Get Book

Inside the Neolithic Mind: Consciousness, Cosmos, and the Realm of the Gods by David Lewis-Williams,David Pearce Pdf

An exploration of how brain structure and cultural content interacted in the Neolithic period 10,000 years ago to produce unique life patterns and belief systems. What do the headless figures found in the famous paintings at Catalhoyuk in Turkey have in common with the monumental tombs at Newgrange and Knowth in Ireland? How can the concepts of "birth," "death," and "wild" cast light on the archaeological enigma of the domestication of cattle? What generated the revolutionary social change that ended the Upper Palaeolithic? David Lewis-Williams's previous book, The Mind in the Cave, dealt with the remarkable Upper Palaeolithic paintings, carvings, and engravings of western Europe. Here Dr. Lewis-Williams and David Pearce examine the intricate web of belief, myth, and society in the succeeding Neolithic period, arguably the most significant turning point in all human history, when agriculture became a way of life and the fractious society that we know today was born. The authors focus on two contrasting times and places: the beginnings in the Near East, with its mud-brick and stone houses each piled on top of the ruins of another, and western Europe, with its massive stone monuments more ancient than the Egyptian pyramids. They argue that neurological patterns hardwired into the brain help explain the art and society that Neolithic people produced. Drawing on the latest research, the authors skillfully link material on human consciousness, imagery, and religious concepts to propose provocative new theories about the causes of an ancient revolution in cosmology and the origins of social complexity. In doing so they create a fascinating neurological bridge to the mysterious thought-lives of the past and reveal the essence of a momentous period in human history. 100 illustrations, 20 in color.

Author : D. Bruce Dickson
Publisher : University of Arizona Press
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 1992-07
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 0816513368

Get Book

The Dawn of Belief by D. Bruce Dickson Pdf

Hunter-gatherers of the Upper Paleolithic period of the late Pleistocene epoch in western Europe left a legacy of cave paintings and material remains that have long fascinated modern man. This book draws on theories derived from cultural anthropology and cognitive archaeology to propose a reconstruction of the religious life of those people based on the patterning and provenience of their artifacts. Based on the premises that all members of Homo sapiens sapiens share basically similar psychological processes and capabilities and that human culture is patterned, the author uses ethnographic analogy, inference from material patterns, and formal analysis to find in prehistoric imagery clues to the cosmology that lay behind them. The resulting book is an intriguing speculation on the nature of paleolithic religion, offering scholars a valuable synthesis of anthropological, archaeological, and sociological research, and general readers an accessible account of how our forebears may have regarded the unknown. "A well-written and intellectually rigorous introduction. If you are curious about prehistory, you will enjoy it." —Wilson Library Bulletin "Most interesting to those scholars interested in seeking materialist foundations or ecological explanations for religious practices." —American Antiquity "A well-written and concise account of what has recently been achieved by the investigations of spiritual life of the Earth's most ancient human communities." —Archiv Orientalni (Czechoslovakia)

Author : Rebecca L Stein,Philip Stein
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 285 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2015-08-07
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781317350217

Get Book

The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft -- Pearson eText by Rebecca L Stein,Philip Stein Pdf

This book emphasizes the major concepts of both anthropology and the anthropology of religion and examines religious expression from a cross-cultural perspective while incorporating key theoretical concepts. It is aimed at students encountering anthropology for the first time.

Author : Mariko Namba Walter,Eva Jane Neumann Fridman
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 1088 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2004-12-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781576076460

Get Book

Shamanism [2 volumes] by Mariko Namba Walter,Eva Jane Neumann Fridman Pdf

A guide to worldwide shamanism and shamanistic practices, emphasizing historical and current cultural adaptations. This two-volume reference is the first international survey of shamanistic beliefs from prehistory to the present day. In nearly 200 detailed, readable entries, leading ethnographers, psychologists, archaeologists, historians, and scholars of religion and folk literature explain the general principles of shamanism as well as the details of widely varied practices. What is it like to be a shaman? Entries describe, region by region, the traits, such as sicknesses and dreams, that mark a person as a shaman, as well as the training undertaken by initiates. They detail the costumes, music, rituals, artifacts, and drugs that shamans use to achieve altered states of consciousness, communicate with spirits, travel in the spirit world, and retrieve souls. Unlike most Western books on shamanism, which focus narrowly on the individual's experience of healing and trance, Shamanism also examines the function of shamanism in society from social, political, and historical perspectives and identifies the ancient, continuous thread that connects shamanistic beliefs and rituals across cultures and millennia.

Author : Bryan Rennie
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 298 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2020-02-13
Category : Art
ISBN : 9781000046793

Get Book

An Ethology of Religion and Art by Bryan Rennie Pdf

Drawing from sources including the ethology of art and the cognitive science of religion this book proposes an improved understanding of both art and religion as behaviors developed in the process of human evolution. Looking at both art and religion as closely related, but not identical, behaviors a more coherent definition of religion can be formed that avoids pitfalls such as the Eurocentric characterization of religion as belief or the dismissal of the category as nothing more than false belief or the product of scholarly invention. The book integrates highly relevant insights from the ethology and anthropology of art, particularly the identification of "the special" by Ellen Dissanayake and art as agency by Alfred Gell, with insights from, among others, Ann Taves, who similarly identified "specialness" as characteristic of religion. It integrates these insights into a useful and accurate understanding and explanation of the relationship of art and religion and of religion as a human behavior. This in turn is used to suggest how art can contribute to the development and maintenance of religions. The innovative combination of art, science, and religion in this book makes it a vital resource for scholars of Religion and the Arts, Aesthetics, Religious Studies, Religion and Science and Religious Anthropology.