Preface

Bahn, Paul G.; Franklin, Natalie; Strecker, Matthias; Devlet, Ekaterina G.

doi:10.2307/j.ctvxrq0fv.4

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…We will look at a well-known phenomenon that heretofore has been sparsely considered as exemplifying symbolic thinking. This is the phenomenon of cave and rock art, which is found on every major continent occupied by modern humans ( Bahn and Fossati, 1995 , 2003 ; Bahn et al, 2008 , 2012 ). We wish to understand the nature of the expressions of symbolic thinking inherent in these artifacts as a way to begin to understand the evolutionary process that led to a fully developed symbolic species.…”

Section: Life In the Cavesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-Modality Information Transfer: A Hypothesis about the Relationship among Prehistoric Cave Paintings, Symbolic Thinking, and the Emergence of Language

2018

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Early modern humans developed mental capabilities that were immeasurably greater than those of non-human primates. We see this in the rapid innovation in tool making, the development of complex language, and the creation of sophisticated art forms, none of which we find in our closest relatives. While we can readily observe the results of this high-order cognitive capacity, it is difficult to see how it could have developed. We take up the topic of cave art and archeoacoustics, particularly the discovery that cave art is often closely connected to the acoustic properties of the cave chambers in which it is found. Apparently, early modern humans were able to detect the way sound reverberated in these chambers, and they painted artwork on surfaces that were acoustic “hot spots,” i.e., suitable for generating echoes. We argue that cave art is a form of cross-modality information transfer, in which acoustic signals are transformed into symbolic visual representations. This form of information transfer across modalities is an instance of how the symbolic mind of early modern humans was taking shape into concrete, externalized language. We also suggest that the earliest rock art found in Africa may constitute one of the first fossilized proxies for the expression of full-fledged human linguistic behavior.

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Section: Life In the Cavesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-Modality Information Transfer: A Hypothesis about the Relationship among Prehistoric Cave Paintings, Symbolic Thinking, and the Emergence of Language

2018

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“…New theories and ontologies are used to address novel questions about old art and it is all happening at a pace that makes keeping up with the latest publications a job rather than a pastime (e.g. Bahn et al 2008Bahn et al , 2012Domingo Sanz et al 2008;Goldhahn 2008a;Goldhahn et al 2010;Jones et al 2011;Back Danielsson et al 2012;Cochrane & Jones 2012;McDonald & Veth 2012;Smith et al 2012;Schaafsma 2013;Gillette et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engraved Biographies: Rock Art and the Life-Histories of Bronze Age Objects

Goldhahn

2021

csa

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This article deals with engravings depicting some times lifesized Bronze Age metal objects from “closed” burial contexts and “openair” sites in northern Europe. These rock art images have mainly been used for comparative dating with the purpose of establishing rock art chronologies, or interpreted as a poor man’s” substitute for real ob jects that were sacrificed to immaterial gods and goddesses. In this article, these rock art images are pictured from a perspective that highlights the mu tual cultural biography of humans and objects. It is argued that the rare engravings of bronze ob jects at scale 1:1 are best explained as famous ani mated objects that could act as secondary agents, which sometimes allowed them to be depicted and remembered. Moreover, two different social set tings are distinguished for such memory practice: maritime nodes or third spaces where Bronze Age Argonauts met before, during or after their jour neys, e.g. places where novel technological and/or famous objects entered and reentered the social realms, and burial contexts where animated objects sometimes was buried at the end of their lifecourse

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Preface

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Cross-Modality Information Transfer: A Hypothesis about the Relationship among Prehistoric Cave Paintings, Symbolic Thinking, and the Emergence of Language

Cross-Modality Information Transfer: A Hypothesis about the Relationship among Prehistoric Cave Paintings, Symbolic Thinking, and the Emergence of Language

Engraved Biographies: Rock Art and the Life-Histories of Bronze Age Objects

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