Critique
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Part of me is fairly humble and part of me is not. I did study archaeology and anthropology at Cambridge in the 1970s. I cannot accept with any degree of equanimity the vast posturings and overblown empty, self conscious rhetoric and jargon that inhabits the last half of this book.
It starts quite promisingly with a good discussion of Homo Sapiens/ Neanderthals and perhaps some credence can be given to a psychological estimation that sapiens was better adapted than his contemporaries through a higher intelligence manifested in a more sophisticated mind set and more acute imagination. Perhaps the dreaming/hallucinations trances and shamanistic interpretations are plausible, in a generic sense to 'explain' Palaeoloithic parietal and mobiliar art.
I seem to remember reading similar books written by Carlos Casteneda in the 1970s which discussed native American Indians and Shamans taking mescaline and experimenting with drugs and 'seeing' the world in different ways.
I cannot accept the dismissal of the work of Leroi-Gourhon or even the sympathetic interpretation of some Palaeolithic art. I think it is only reasonable to suggest that a symbiotic relationship between humans and animals did exist and their representation in cave art is to a certain extent a mark of reverence and affection for the animals they hunted and consumed. Societies such as the Lapps today would simply not survive if they did not have a close relationship with their animals.
I am afraid I am not a professor, but should point out that if there is going to be a lot of technical language there should at least be a glossary at the back of the book. I digress here but there is a very good book called the Neanderthal's Necklace which was published a few years ago which I do recommend by Juan Luis Arsuaga.
I find it hard to believe that Chris Stringer has nailed his cross to this book.
In what I regard as a simplistic interpretation the author suggests that these remarkable Palaeolithic people were little more than a drug taking colony of spaced out hippies who on analogy with tribes some several thousand years later and on the basis of ethnographic analogy managed to produce some highly symbolic paintings. I think this interpretation belittles the imagination of our ancestors though it may do wonders for David Lewis-William's academic career.
I would rather be descended from a neanderthal than a 21 century rock art researcher!
With apologies
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Even in caves there is Enlightenment
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Did you think up to now that cave art might be of a somewhat remote scientific and cultural interest? Do you still cling to that dualism of the two cultures believing that only science is real science? Read this book and you will forget about that. First you get some interesting lessons in history of sciences the discovery and explanation of paleolithic art can tell. Further on the author sums up briefly but adequately the essentials of a scientific theory of knowledge. A well defendable concept for the development of consciousness and the resulting social changes is presented. Typical stages of altered consciousness link cave art to shamanism and mystical experience as found in the religious tradition ever since. Common neurobiological and neuropsychological mechanisms (which can be also be oberved in near-death experiences by the way) account for all that. It's just a small step from the paleolithic cave to modern neurotheology as pursued by Newberg and others. When it comes to their social impact these phenomenons of the human mind have an ugly and a beautiful face as we know all to well. Lewis-Williams is at once imaginative in his explanations and uncompromising in his philosophical position: We should distinguish between the pleasure we can derive from works of art we owe to religious devotion and "the terrible belief that God ist speaking directly to us and telling us not only how to order our own lives but also to impose that order on other's lives. What is in our heads is in our heads, not located beyond us. That is the crux of the matter, and is does not diminish Bach, Shakespeare, Donne and Wordsworth." (P. 291)
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Thought provoking and fascinating
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In the Mind in The Cave, David Lewis-Williams explains his theories on the origin of art and the evolution of the human mind. Lewis-Williams begins by exploring the varying levels of consciousness, modules of the mind and the brain patterns as we sleep and dream. This forms a fascinating backdrop to the rest of the book as he delves deeper into two case studies, one focusing on South African San Rock Art and the other on North American Rock Art. He deduces from the evidence that is available, that shamanic trances produced 'altered states of consciousness' which formed the visions that have been painted, and in some cases, carved during the Upper Paleolithic period. He theorises that these images served as a 'membrane' between real life and the spirit realm, and therefore proved to be extremely influential in the development of the cave communities. Lewis-Williams then explores the concept of the wider community within the Upper Paleolithic period and the subject of conflict within these communities. However, I did feel that Lewis-Williams focuses so intently on the notion of Shamanism and 'altered states of consciousness' that the book does not have a broad enough outlook on the other potential theories of the origins of art throughout the Paleolithic period.
Overall, I found this to be a fascinating, thought provoking read on our earliest ancestors and the evolution of consciousness and the human mind.
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Interesting but narrow
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This is a cautious, well-balanced book, with some lovely pictures, that argues convincingly that paleolithic cave art resulted from altered states of consciousness and shamanistic practices.
Having accepted that premise, I didn't find much more. The author is careful not to commit himself or even to speculate very much. Why these particular animals? Why so few and far less realistic human figures? How did the artists reach such a remarkble level of ease and proficiency - are the cruder designs from an earlier period? Why did paople stop producing the art - was it the coming of agriculture?
Admittedly, these questions and many others are difficult to answer, but a bit more of an effort would have been appreciated.
And what about the mind outside the cave? What was the landscape like at that time - a barren polar plateau or lush deciduous trees - a harsh or easy life?
Hundreds of questions spring to mind, but this book is very narrowly focused.
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Michaelangelo's Palaeolithic roots
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Any book challenging Established Truths deserves a place in your library. This exquisite example closely and vividly investigates the world of Western European rock art. Not an "art critic's" analysis, Lewis-Williams explains the roots of this enigmatic form of human expression. In so doing, he offers new insights into the idea of "spiritual realms" and the formulation of religions. With research delving in areas ignored or forgotten, the author demonstrates why our views of our Paleolithic forebears needs revision. Of foremost importance is the need to shed the notion of "primitive" as a quality attributed to our ancestors. The cave artists were "modern" humans in every sense of the term. Lewis-Williams opens his study with a review of the first overturning of how we view humanity's track. Cave art had been found as early as the 17th Century, but the discoverers had no idea of the stretch of time those pictures had crossed. Not until the great insight of Charles Darwin, relying on Lyell's vast idea of an ancient earth, did it become possible to view cave art as remnants of prehistoric human life. The technology that could accurately date these pictures pushed the date of their creation back thousands of years. New finds set human artistic expression to more than 75 thousand years ago. Lewis-Williams contends that these artefacts are the result of a sharp change in human intellect. About 75 thousand years ago, in various places at different times, the human consciousness experienced an elaboration. The immediate environment no longer was the limit of experience. Humans added what is known as "higher order" consciousness to the "primary consciousness" that allowed us, along with most other animals, to survive. Now, the more developed brain could achieve new levels of thought - "altered states of consciousness" in the author's term. Under certain conditions, the brain might even be imaging itself. Without any means of understanding the images they seemed to be "seeing", Paleolithic humans interpreted these visions as representing a "spirit" world. That world might be "above" in the skies or "below" in the earth. Caves acted as the perfect intermediate place to try to comprehend and react to these phenomena. The more tactile of these "vision-seers" would use the cave walls to depict their visions. Ultimately, the rocks became viewed as a "membrane" between the real and spiritual worlds. The spirits, or "gods" could now be portrayed visibly and even communicated with. Lewis-Williams meticulously details how many of the paintings and symbols were rendered. The harsh glare of modern electrical lights, he reminds us, obscure the shifting and apparent "movement" that would be observed by people bearing the flickering oil lamps and torches into the caves. That "reality" gave the images greater impact on the artists and viewers as they worked and communed with the spirit world. No universal pattern emerges from these cave "studios", the author makes clear. Some may have allowed a large gathering to participate, either in the creation of images or in supplementary rituals. Others clearly allowed but one or a few attendees due to the restricted nature of the passages or the rooms containing the graphics. These are not, he says, the renderings of a Paleolithic leisure class, but working images vital to the population concerned. Some may have been strictly local, while others served wide-spread communities at various times and circumstances. With many excellent renderings of cave art images, some in colour, to enhance the text, Lewis-Williams presents a logically developed and well-substantiated scenario. He stops his analysis at what can be seen and inferred from what we know of Paleolithic people. Yet, if you wonder what would drive people into the deep and darkened recesses of a hillside cave, just walk into the nearest cathedral or even small community church. These are dark, quiet places, severing the visitor from the travails and pressures of daily living. Communing with spirits is the raison d'etre of such temples. Are they the modern expression of the forces that drove our Paleolithic ancestors? [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
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