Analogical Evidence and Shamanism in Archaeological Interpretation: South African and European Palaeolithic Rock Art

Abstract

Rock art studies have been strongly reliant on ethnography in recent decades. Since the 1970s, the (re)turn to ethnography has been considered short of a paradigmatic change, and it has indeed stirred a lot of theoretical discussion in the very under-theorized field of rock art research. The ethnographic turn has been mainly built around shamanism, very loosely defined here as the causal association that researchers establish between shamanic practices and rock art, and from which explanations have been sought. The application of this approach has changed through time, depending on 1) the archaeological context in which it was to be applied, 2) the use of additional sources of evidence (namely, neuropsychology), 3) the role of shamanism as a hypothesis or as an established fact. As a hypothesis it has been built on the basis of three different kinds of analogies: ethnographic, formal and uniformitarian. This paper addresses the shifting character of shamanism in South African and European Palaeolithic rock art studies, seeking to contribute at least in part to a broader reflection on the nature of analogical reasoning and its implications.

Ethnography, Archaeology, and the Late Pleistocene

“…It is not just that we do not have to hand a theory that allows us to interpret arbitrary signs; we have theoretical reason to suspect that there is no such theory. Consequently, I am very skeptical of one prominent use of ethnographic information, its use in the interpretation of rock art (VanPool 2009;Bednarik 2011;Berrocal 2011). As Adrian Currie pointed out, in some cases the inference is based on the supposition of cultural continuity between the makers of rock art and their ethnographically described descendants.…”

Always Ritual, Symbolic and Religious? An Essay on the Alta Rock Art and the Archaeological Quest for Meaning

“…Binford 1967, Fahlander 2004, Hodder 1982, Ravn 2011, Wylie 1985, concerning rock art e.g. Bahn 2010, Berrocal 2011, Currie 2016, Porr and Bell 2012, the use of such analogies is one of the foundations, perhaps the most important one, on which the dominating interpretations of Fennoscandian hunters and gatherers' rock art rest. The fact that the Alta rock art were made by hunters and gatherers, has strongly influenced how it has been interpreted.…”

“…Maria Cruz Berrocal's (2011, p. 11) statement regarding studies of South African and European palaeolithic rock art may apply also here: 'In reality, shamanism is no longer used as a plausible hypothesis; instead, it has acquired the status of a fact'. Accordingly, rock art easily becomes a supplementary or derivative evidence of the prehistoric existence of this worldview, and whereby the interpretation of the rock art turns into an act of translation (Berrocal 2011).…”

Hypoxia in Paleolithic decorated caves: the use of artificial light in deep caves reduces oxygen concentration and induces altered states of consciousness

“…Scholars tend to correlate Upper Paleolithic cave depictions with symbolic or religious expressions that might be part of a shamanic practice conducted probably during a state of trance and aimed at a connectedness with the different entities inhabiting the world and the worlds beyond (Arias 2009;Berrocal 2011;Clottes and Lewis-Williams 1998;Lewis-Williams 1997, 2002aLewis-Williams and Clottes 2007;Whitley 2009). However, a general consensus is lacking as to whether the concepts of shamanism and trance contribute to our understanding of Upper Paleolithic cave depictions (Bahn 2001;Helvenston et al 2003;Lewis-Williams 2007;Lewis-Williams and Pearce 2015;McCall 2007;Solomon 2006).…”