In this final contribution on the identification of the birds painted in the Palaeolithic Grotte Cosquer as Great Auks, it is noticed that the birds need to be seen within a Palaeolithic hunter–gatherer's view of the world, which is not the same as that of a modern natural historian or taxonomist.
a a Michael Eastham studied fine art under the influence of Ernest Gombrich. The study of art as an aspect of social action rather than technical illustration has been explored by Eastham in a series of thought-provoking peer-reviewed articles.Michael Eastham studied fine art under the influence of Ernest Gombrich. The study of art as an aspect of social action rather than technical illustration has been explored by Eastham in a series of thought-provoking peer-reviewed articles.
AbstractLate Pleistocene images on cave walls depict things in ways that we can unscramble using the visual perception procedures we use for interpreting reality. They probably also symbolize things in ways that require the significance of the signifier to be explained but as this means little information about symbolic forms can be explicit, communication cannot be by symbols. The nature of non-symbolic late Pleistocene visual communication is explored. It is concluded that the images in a cave are designed to depict the behavior of animals in a specific area and though magic or religious symbolism may also have been imposed its intention inevitably remains uncertain.
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