IFRAO CONGRESS PLEISTOCENE ART OF THE WORLD

Transcription

IFRAO CONGRESS
PLEISTOCENE ART OF THE WORLD
(6-11 September 2010, ARIÈGE-PYRÉNÉES, FRANCE)
Symposium
Signs, symbols, myth, ideology
Pleistocene art: the archaeological material
and its anthropological meanings
Pr. Dario SEGLIE (Italy), [email protected]
Pr. Mike SINGLETON (Belgium), [email protected]
Pr Marcel OTTE (Belgium), [email protected]
co-assisted by Prs. Enrico COMBA (Italy), [email protected]
& Luiz OOSTERBEEK (Portugal), [email protected]
Rationale
The symposium seeks to occasion new ideas and innovative research, to afford fresh
theories and bold hypothesis together with unpublished information and recent
discoveries relative to the study of Pleistocene art in general, and in particular to the
philosophies and practices it implies. The symposium thus provides an opportunity to
discuss the roles played by iconography and myth in archaeological times thanks, in
part, to the light which can be shed thereon by insights emerging from the
anthropological study of peoples whose material life styles and assimilated mentalities
can be plausibly paralleled to those of our prehistoric forebears.
There is no third way beyond conscious or unconscious ethnocentrism. It must
consequently be recognised that anthropology and archaeology with their respective
categorisations of empirical reality (amongst which art and prehistory, ritual and myth)
are pure products of recent Western history. This recognition, creative as well as critical,
could lead, far beyond the usual interdisciplinary syncretisms, to radically new
hermeneutical systems able to attribute less ambiguous meaning to the very terms
under discussion, such as “artistic production” “the Pleistocene”, “primitive religion” and
“hunter-gatherers”.
In particular, such issues as the following will be debated:
–The emerging problems of the archaeological and anthropological documentation of art
sites with special reference to palaeo-archaeo-anthropological data.
–The correlations, synchronic and diachronic, between palaeo-ethnocultural areas at
different periods and in various places.
–The iconography of Pleistocene art as a reflection of palaeo-ethnic traditions.
IFRAO Congress, September 2010 – Symposium: Signs, symbols, myth, ideology… (Updating:
2010/06/20)
–Ceremonial aspects and underlying meanings; the possible roles and function of
Pleistocene art in keeping with eco-social-cultural changes.
–Data from sites that are still in use, insofar as they can be related to Pleistocene art
sites.
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The fate of a thinking animal: Pleistocene art as part of the process of
human hegemonic appropriation of the world
by António Pedro BATARDA FERNANDES
School of Conservation Sciences, Bournemouth University, Christchurch House, Talbot
Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole – Dorset BH12 5BB United Kingdom, [email protected]
Abstract
Pleistocene art possesses manifold often ‘superimposed’ meanings. Some are only
fully accessible to the original creators; some are totally reinvested by present day
researchers. Some may be the conscious expressions of the mind of an artist in a
given time while others may reflect the idiosyncrasies of an entire community.
Although original creators were (admittedly) unaware of the fact, ancient imagery
can be regarded as a stepping stone in the process of human hegemonic
appropriation of the planet. Taking open-air sites as an example, it will be argued
that Pleistocene rock art can be seen as an attempt to place and understand
ourselves within a ‘natural’ World that becomes humanized when landscapes are
created.
Keywords: human landscapes, human development, open-air rock art.
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Laussel Venus mysteries decoded at the light of an innovator
anthropological approach
by Antonia BERTOCCHI
International Institute of Humankind Studies, Laboratorio di Antropologia ed Etnologia, Università
di Firenze, Italy – [email protected]
Abstract
The anthropological approach to the problem of decoding Laussel Venus Moon
symbols, shows that the matricentric imaging, into Pleistocenic age was a very
careful observer of synchronicity by menstrual cycle and lunar phases, and that, by
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the study of those correspondences, women reached, at first, very important
scientific discoveries relating many fields of knowledge, as astronomy,
mathematics, biology, botanicals and medicine, also giving birth to the beginning of
coding myth- rite magic religious systems, based on the concept of a Moon
Goddess. Similar discoveries done to women a matricentric power, them submitted
to an ecological, social and adaptive use, allowing us a long time survival up to
day.
The systemic study of Laussel Venus, into the context of Pleistocenic culture, will
open the door of mysteries still hidden by time, offering a real increasing of
knowledge about origin and decadence of western patriarchal civilization, and
founding basis of a possible Resurrection of humankind.
Keywords: Laussel Venus, matricentric, Moon Goddess, Menstrual cycle, Lunar
phases.
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Les symboles comme marqueurs chronologiques et régionaux :
l’exemple des petits ovales pisciformes de type Petersfels
par Gerhard BOSINSKI
3 place Mazelviel F-82140 Saint Antonin Noble Val – [email protected]
Résumé
Certains symboles de l’art du Paléolithique supérieur occupent une place définie
dans le temps et l’espace ; ainsi, les signes aviformes du Solutréen en Quercy et
Charente, les signes tectiformes de la deuxième partie du Magdalénien moyen en
Dordogne ou les trapèzes à oreilles dans la grotte Kapova dans l’Oural.
André Leroi-Gourhan a proposé de voir dans ces signes des symboles tribaux.
Jadis ces symboles ont dû être expliqués verbalement ; l’on devrait donc aller
encore plus loin en observant la répartition chronologique et spatiale comme des
groupes linguistiques.
Dans cette contribution, sont discutés les petits ovales remplis de traits obliques ou
de chevrons du Magdalénien final. Ces signes pisciformes sont particulièrement
nombreux et variés au Petersfels (Bade, Allemagne). Nous pouvons montrer que
leurs variations morphologique – ovales pointus avec une extrémité ouverte,
ovales aux deux extrémités fermées – et de remplissage – traits obliques,
chevrons – jouent une rôle important. L’on retrouve toutes ces variations ailleurs,
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en Suisse et dans la région franco-cantabrique.
Mots-clé : Magdalénien final, art mobilier, Petersfels, marqueurs chronologiques et
régionaux.

Symbols as chronological and regional markers: the examples of the
small fishlike ovals of Petersfels type
Abstract
Some symbols of Upper Palaeolithic art occupy a defined place in time and space.
This is the case with the aviform signs of the Solutrean in Quercy and Charente,
the tectiform signs of the second part of Middle Magdalenian in the Dordogne, or
the “trapezoids with ears” from Kapova cave in the Urals.
André Leroi-Gourhan proposed an interpretation of these signs as tribal symbols.
In the past the symbols would have needed a verbal explication, so we can
possibly go further and interpret the geographical and chronological distribution of
the signs as representing linguistic groups.
In this paper the ovals filled with oblique lines or chevrons of Final Magdalenian are
discussed. These fishlike signs are especially numerous and varied at the
Petersfels (Baden, Germany). There it can be shown that the variations of their
forms –pointed ovals with one open end, ovals closed at both ends– and their
ornamentation –oblique lines, chevrons– play an important role. All these variations
also occur elsewhere in Switzerland and the Franco-Cantabrian region
Keywords: Final Magdalenian, mobil art, Petersfels, chronological and regional
markers.
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Comparaison de deux contextes d’utilisation de l’argile au
paléolithique supérieur en Europe
par Estelle BOUGARD
Chercheuse associée, Laboratoire TRACES, Université Toulouse-Le Mirail –
[email protected]
Résumé
Il existe au Paléolithique supérieur en Europe deux grandes traditions d’utilisation
de l’argile dans le Pavlovien de Moravie et le Magdalénien des Pyrénées
françaises. Malgré les différences culturelles, chronologiques et géographiques
évidentes entre ces deux contextes, l’on constate, dans les deux cas, l’invention de
techniques nouvelles liées à la matière argileuse et utilisées uniquement (dans
l’état actuel de la recherche) pour l’expression symbolique. L’étude comparative de
ces deux traditions fournit des éléments particulièrement intéressants sur les
contextes technologiques, sociaux et artistiques concernés, et notamment sur la
place accordée à l’individu au sein des groupes humains.
Mots-clé : argile, Gravettien, Moravie, Magdalénien, Pyrénées.
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Looking for the beginning of art
by Margaret BULLEN
Melbourne Australia – [email protected]
Abstract
Looking for the beginning of art is akin to seeking the beginning of a great river.
Does it start with the small spring or in the clouds that form the rain? How did the
bed of the river come to travel its particular pathway?
To examine the Pleistocene art of Western Europe is to interrogate a small stretch
of the great river of art. This paper will explore ways in which it is now possible to
tackle the questions of art’s ultimate origins and how the neuroanatomy and
neurophysiology of the brain have influenced its early development.
Keywords: Pleistocene, art, origins, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology.
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The elephant in the room
by Dick BUNT
University of Portsmouth, UK – [email protected]
Abstract
The following reflections concern certain themes which seem to underlie the
phenomena of image-making during the Upper Palaeolithic in South-West Europe.
These include the appearance of what may be called “symbolic” production –the
symbol being thought here as an indissoluble bringing-together of different kinds of
conditions, the physical and the cultural, the material and the immaterial,
specifically in this context the making present of something absent; in semiological
terms, the union of an expression and a content. In the case of these images, an
inescapable content derives from something of the animal, brought to appearance,
under particular conditions, within the depths of the earth.
This paper will reflect briefly on the symbolic innovation entailed in the making of
the images, on a possible relation between human and animal nature –a nature at
once deeply shared and yet consciously and irrevocably separated– which might
have motivated these operations, and on the particular condition of the places
where this confrontation was manifested within the deep caves. Such concerns
are, from a phenomenological standpoint, both fundamental and problematic, since
they touch upon questions of how the emergence of modern human experience
might be recognized. Perhaps this may explain why they seem to be seldom
directly addressed, at least in such terms. So, in order to provide a particular
orientation, the perspective from which these themes will be discussed here stems
from Georges Bataille’s writings on “prehistoire” during the 1950’s –a source which
(also) seems to be strangely invisible within archaeological literature in this vast
field.
And, of course, another proverbial elephant is the problematic issue of the nature
of ‘art’ itself, which Bataille indeed confronted in a profound way. It is assumed,
though not argued, here that to conventionally refer to these productions as “art”,
without qualification or further interrogation, given the context in which this term
has come to be employed since the renaissance in Western Europe, let alone over
the past century, is unhelpful and risks being misleading.
Keywords: symbol, image, appearing, animal, Bataille.
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From Pleistocene art to the worship of the mountains in China:
Methodological tools for Mimesis in Palaeoart
by Patricio BUSTAMANTE D1, W. FAY YAO2 & Daniela BUSTAMANTE3
1
Archaeoastronomy Researcher, Taller Taucan, Fellow researcher of The Los Alamos National
Laboratory Geographic Information Systems for the Preservation of Archaeological Sites and
Petroglyphs. Member of AURA, the Australian Rock Art Research Association –
[email protected]
2
IEEE Computer Society, IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society, Resource and
Information Specialist, Albuquerque Public Schools System – [email protected]
3
Architecture graduated – [email protected]
Abstract
Bednarik (2009) described the Makapansgat jasperite cobble, a human face
shaped stone deposited 2.5 to 3 million years ago. Tsao et al. (2006) demonstrated
that face perception is a crucial skill to primates, humans and macaque monkeys.
Applying two methodological tools of the Landscape Archaeology –Psicologycal
and Geographical Landscape–, may allow to understand the process that probably
led the Pleistocene humans to sacralize rocks –Mimetoliths– and objects –
Mimetomorphs– with natural forms that resembled animals or human beings, in
increasing scale, from small rocks, big rocks, mountains and Mountainous ranges,
in the early Chinese culture, where we have found that three mythological
characters: Pan-Gu (盘古), Fu-Xi (伏羲) and Shen-Nong (神农), probably were
sacralized mountains.
Mimesis, by the psychological phenomena of Pareidolia, Apophenia and
Hierophany (The PAH triad), might explain the many instances when humans
between Pleistocene and early chinese culture attributed religious significance or
extraordinary connections to ordinary imagery and subjects. On the other hand,
Mimetoliths and Mimetomorphs might contribute to explain the origins of Palaeoart.
Keywords: Palaeoart, Mimesis, Pareidolia, Apophenia, Hierophany.
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Témoignages symboliques au Moustérien
by Marin CÂRCIUMARU, Elena-Cristina NIŢU, Minodora ŢUŢUIANUCÂRCIUMARU
Universitatea Valahia Târgovişte, Şcoala Doctorală – Str. Lt. Stancu Ion, nr. 35, Târgovişte, jud.
Dâmboviţa – [email protected] ; [email protected] ;
[email protected]
Résumé
Comme nous le savons, il existe à présent bon nombre de témoignages
concernant la récolte de l’ocre. Certains auteurs ont évoqué la possibilité de son
utilisation pour le tatouage chez l’homme de Neandertal. La découverte dans la
grotte Cioarei de récipients pour la préparation de l’ocre représente la preuve
matérielle directe concernant la pratique de la peinture corporelle par les
communautés moustériennes. Ils témoignent de la préparation et de l’utilisation de
l’ocre dans un sens bien précis, consciemment et avec des significations connues
préalablement.
La récente découverte de fossiles dans une couche moustérienne de la grotte
Bordul Mare complète le comportement symbolique de l’homme de Neandertal.
Mots-clé : godet, Paléolithique moyen, Moustérien, collection de fossiles, symbolisme.
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Archaic rock-art of Western Arnhem land, Northern Territory,
Australia: from image to meaning and its significance
by Christopher CHIPPINDALE
MAA Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge, England – Rock Art
Research Institute, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa – Centre for
Archaeological Research, Australian National University, Canberra ACT, Australia –
[email protected]
Abstract
Western Arnhem Land offers a special, even a unique research opportunity for it
has: (1) a long sequence of rock-art with a full relative chronology and a fair
absolute chronology at least for its later periods; (2) a rich variety of imagery with
very striking changes over time; (3) a rich recent rock-art tradition which continues
today in other media. Accordingly, here it is possible to see how symbolism has
changed over a long time-period, and to begin to identify with some confidence
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what from that archaic symbolism took. Its likely dating is late Pleistocene so it is
indeed of relevance to the larger picture of symbolism and ideology at the end of
the Pleistocene. It is consistent, in the author’s view, that visionary experience
indeed had a key place in that Pleistocene human understanding.
Keywords: archaic, rock art, Australia, images, significance.
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Análisis de las representaciones paleolíticas de la Cueva de
Maltravieso a partir de su distribución topográfica
por Hipólito COLLADO GIRALDO
Grupo Cuaternario – Prehistória – Centro de Geociencias – ITM, Instituto de Estudios
Prehistóricos – [email protected]
Resumen
En este trabajo se aborda un nuevo análisis de las representaciones paleolíticas
de la cueva de Maltravieso (Cáceres, España) en relación con el ámbito de la
cueva en el que aparecen. Se tienen en consideración los nuevos hallazgos
realizados desde la última revisión completa del año 1996 (Ripoll, Ripoll & Collado,
1999) y desde un punto de vista interpretativo se interrelaciona la distribución
topográfica con las características técnicas de los diferentes motivos paleolíticos
conservados en la cavidad cacereña.
Palabras clave: Maltravieso, España, Paleolítico, interpretación, distribución.

Analysis of Maltravieso’s Palaeolithic rock art from its topographic
distribution
Abstract
This paper presents a new analysis of Palaeolithic representations in Maltravieso
Cave (Cáceres, Spain) in relation to the place where this rock art appear. New
discoveries since 1996 (Ripoll, Ripoll & Collado 1999) are taken into consideration.
From an interpretive rock art point of view, the topographic distribution of rock art is
related to the techniques of Maltravieso Cave.
Keywords: Maltravieso, Spain, Palaeolithic, interpretation, distribution.
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Mixed human-animal representations in Palaeolithic art: an
anthropological perspective
by Enrico COMBA
Dept. of Anthropology, University of Torino, Italy – [email protected]
Abstract
Palaeolithic art, particularly cave art, is largely dominated by animal
representations, described in a remarkable naturalistic and detailed style. This has
led to an interpretation of this art as simply a description of the “natural”
environment surrounding prehistoric hunter-gatherers. But a number of images and
three-dimensional objects are more problematic, because they show not a
“realistic” description of natural beings, but hybrid figures in which human and
animal characteristics are mingled and interwoven.
Taking into consideration some widespread cultural representations of
contemporary hunter-gatherers (especially from the Americas), the scholar is
solicited to put into question the usual opposition between a “nature” out there and
a “culture”, identified with the world of humans, and consequently the clear
boundary line separating humankind from the other animal species. Rather, in the
Amerindian mythologies we can find a universal notion of an original undifferentiation between humans and animals: the original condition of both animals
and men is not conceived as animality but as humanity. Each species is an
envelope concealing an internal human form, visible only to those persons having
special powers. The world is a highly transformational one, in which the changing
of form and aspect is always possible.
Perhaps these considerations can suggest a more complex and fruitful approach to
Palaeolithic art, in which the scholar must be careful not to project on to the
cultures of the prehistoric past some of the self-evident oppositions derived from
our own cultural background, such as nature/culture, human/animal, real/fantastic,
and so forth.
Keywords: animals, hybrids, nature/culture, mythology, cosmology.
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Symbolism and becoming a hunter-gatherer
by Iain DAVIDSON
Flinders University, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2350 Australia –
[email protected]
Abstract
The 19th Century view that hunting and gathering represented the basal state of
human behaviour could not take into account much of what we know now of the
archaeology of people before agriculture nor of those people who never adopted
agriculture. In this paper I will consider two case studies which suggest that the
development of symbolism among hunter-gatherers was fundamental to the reason
they did not go to agriculture. This leads me to question whether it is sufficient to
refer to all pre-agricultural peoples as hunter-gatherers.
Keywords: hunter-gatherers, agriculture, rock art, symbolism, history.
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Fonctions, significations et symbolismes des représentations
animalières paléolithiques
par François DJINDJIAN
Université de Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne et CNRS UMR 7041 Arscan –
[email protected]
Résumé
Les différences observées entre zoocénoses, taphocénoses et iconocénoses
(bestiaires figurés), et généralement expliquées par divers symbolismes, ont été
révisées dans le contexte géographique du territoire de circulation des groupes de
chasseurs-cueilleurs. Il a ainsi pu être défini des iconocénoses caractéristiques
pour l’Aurignacien/Gravettien, pour le Solutréen/Badegoulien et pour le
Magdalénien, qui permettent, en outre, l’identification chronologique et la détection
d’éventuels mélanges des grottes réoccupées. Les résultats obtenus pour le
Magdalénien confirment la structure spatiale de l’art pariétal que A. LamingEmperaire et A. Leroi-Gourhan avaient observée mais révèlent que celle-ci est
valable seulement pour le Magdalénien de la région aquitano-cantabrique et non
sur l’ensemble de l’Europe occidentale sur près de 30 000 ans.
La corrélation entre les iconocénoses, les zoocénoses, les localisations des sites
d’art pariétal et les territoires de peuplement induit une interprétation différente du
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dualisme mâle/femelle : l’espace topographique de la grotte symbolise l’espace
géographique du territoire ; l’association des animaux et leur localisation dans la
grotte est une image réduite des associations de mammifères dans leurs espaces
respectifs.
La distribution spatiale des sites d’art pariétal révèle en outre qu’ils sont souvent
choisis en limites de territoire et possèdent un rôle de marquage identitaire pour
les groupes humains. Cette double fonction de symbolisation du territoire et de
marquage identitaire est présente dès les débuts de l’apparition de l’art
paléolithique et doit être mise en relation non pas avec l’apparition d’une capacité
cognitive « à faire de l’art » mais avec un besoin fonctionnel d’identification qui se
décline à différents niveaux : individuel (pendeloques, ornementation des
vêtements), famille élargie (décoration des cabanes en os de mammouths), groupe
humain et ensemble des groupes d’un même territoire.
La différence de solutions dans l’exploitation du territoire implique une mobilité et
une durée d’occupation des habitats à l’origine des variations de la culture
matérielle entre Néanderthaliens et Sapiens ; la survenue de « l’art » fait partie des
innovations qui apparaissent dans les temps de cette transition en Europe à partir
de 40 000 BP.
Mots-clés : art, Paléolithique, bestiaire, marquage, fonction.

The deep structure of Pleistocene rock art: The “artification
hypothesis”
by Ellen DISSANAYAKE
Affiliate Professor, School of Music, University of Washington, Seattle; 1605 E. Olive Street,
#104 Seattle WA 98122 USA – [email protected]
Abstract
Using ethological ideas and findings, I consider palaeoarts not in themselves as
symbolic objects but as the residue of an evolved human behavior that I call
“artification”: a capacity and motivation to deliberately make ordinary things extraordinary (e.g., adorning or marking ordinary bodies and natural objects with pigments,
incised marks, pierced shells and teeth, cupules, or handprints). Calling these activities
“artification” (rather than “art”) avoids connotations of value, beauty, skill, or
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representation inherent in the modern Western concept. When applied to parietal
palaeoart, the approach provides new ways to think about motivation, function, and
meaning even of non-iconic forms.
Keywords: ethology of art, evolution of art, origin of art, symbolizing, human universals.

Towards a more rigorous definition of terms: are there scenes in
European Palaeolithic art?
by Livio DOBREZ
Reader in the College of Arts & Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra –
[email protected]
Abstract
Taking well-known examples of rock art from the European Palaeolithic, the paper
puts forward new definitions of established terms like “composition”, “juxtaposition”,
“association” and “scene”, based not on pragmatic considerations but on a
Reception Theory analysis of perception, i.e. how we actually “see” rock art. Of
course this raises questions regarding the objectivity of everyday perception and,
specifically, of perception of visual representations. The issue of Palaeolithic
scenes is a problematical one, but I argue there are such scenes, though not
necessarily those usually identified as such. On the basis of an initial discussion of
“composition”, the paper puts forward criteria for distinguishing between
representational juxtapositions, associations and scenes, arguing for greater
theoretical rigour in rock art discourse.
Keywords: European Palaeolithic art, composition, juxtaposition, association, scene,
philosophical hermeneutics.
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Human dimensions of climate change and Pleistocene art
by Thomas HEYD1 & Tilman LENSSEN-ERZ2
1
Department of Philosophy, University of Victoria – P.O. Box 3045, Victoria, British Columbia
V8W 3P4, Canada – [email protected]
2
Africa Research Unit, Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne –Jennerstr. 8
D-50823 Köln Germany – [email protected]
Abstract
We hold that art, especially rock art, may significantly contribute to our
understanding of people’s conception of themselves and of their environment in
times that include important climate variations and climate change. We lay out the
theoretical grounds in aesthetics for this supposition, based on the idea that rock
art constitutes the self-expression of people who see themselves as subjects. We
suggest approaches for assessing this hypothesis. We take note of research that
points toward associations between, on the one hand, change in climate during the
Pleistocene and the transition into the Holocene and, on the other, the appearance
of new motifs, changes in variability of motifs or styles within a certain territory, and
the production and eventual discontinuation of rock art making in areas that, in
principle, are suitable for such production in terms of presence of materials.
Keywords: aesthetics, climate change, Pleistocene, art, human dimensions.
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Les manifestations « artistiques », un vecteur de connaissance
socioculturelle des sociétés du Paléolithique supérieur
par Lioudmila IAKOVLEVA
Directeur de recherches, Département de Préhistoire de l’Institut d’Archéologie de l’Académie
Nationale des Sciences d’Ukraine – [email protected]
Résumé
L’art paléolithique, perçu comme une représentation figurée, réaliste et/ou
schématique, à signification allégorique et/ou symbolique, signifie dans les
sociétés de chasseurs-cueilleurs une fonction sociale identitaire à plusieurs
niveaux d’échelle (individu, famille élargie, groupe, réseau de groupe
(= « culture »). À ce titre, l’art paléolithique apparaît comme une des composantes
majeures de la connaissance socioculturelle des sociétés paléolithiques.
Cette approche, différente des approches traditionnelles de l’étude de l’art
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paléolithique d’Europe occidentale, considère sur un même plan les manifestations
« artistiques », pariétales et/ou rupestre et/ou mobilières/, présentes dans les sites
souterrains (sites en entrée de grottes, cavernes profondes) ou de plein air
(rupestre), dans les abris sous roche et dans les campements de plein air avec des
structures spatiales aménagées avec des matériaux de constructions variés
d’origine locale.
Elle cherche également à comprendre les raisons fonctionnelles de l’absence, de
la rareté ou de l’abondance de ces manifestations (durée d’occupation et fonction
des habitats, conditions d’abandon, localisation des sites dans le territoire).
À travers plusieurs exemples choisis dans le Paléolithique supérieur européen,
dans les structures d’habitat de plein air comme dans les structures funéraires, il
est montré que les manifestations « artistiques » apparaissent comme un
ensemble de codes systémiques marquant une structure sociale complexe, depuis
des individualisations intra-groupe variées jusqu’à des programmes intergroupes à
valeur culturelle.
Mots-clés : art, préhistoire, sociologie, culture, code.

Her and him: exploring the creation myth and symbolism of gender in
Upper Palaeolithic portable art of Eurasia
by Liliana JANIK
Assistant Directory in Research, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge Lecturer
and Director of Studies for Archaeology and Anthropology, Girton College, University of
Cambridge – Lila Janik <[email protected]>
Abstract
The aim of this presentation is to introduce my recent research into the relationship
between the mammoth and other living beings embodied in the portable art of
Pleistocene Eurasia. On the one hand I shall explore anthropologically defined
concept of gender, the role of the mammoth in creation myth of Siberian mythology
and on the other, the archaeological material. By using notion of gender as a
culturally defined category I am looking at multiple relationships between images of
the human female and other representations, the material they have been carved
from, as well as the context they have been found in. In particular, I shall focus on
the specific depiction of human female, so called Venus figurines, the material they
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have been made from, the process of their breakage, place of their deposition and
their relation to the mammoth. Mammoth as a source of the material used to make
some of them and mammoth as the subject of the sculpture per se. Finally, I shall
present the link between depictions of other mammals, materials are made of, the
human female and mammoth figurines. In such way I hope to go beyond our
culturally define categories of gender and look for particular relationships specific
to different areas and regions of Pleistocene Eurasia.
Keywords: portable art, myth, gender, creation.

Upper paleolithic cave art and philosophical theories of the image
by Hagi KENAAN
Department of Philosophy, Tel Aviv University Israel – Email: [email protected]
Abstract
Upper Paleolithic cave art has had a very interesting influence on the way
philosophy and, specifically, French philosophy of the second half of the
20th Century has dealt with the life of images and the question of their visual
meaning. Beyond the discovery of Lascaux that has tantalized the philosophical
imagination of such thinkers as Bataille, Blanchot and Merleau-Ponty, later
discoveries and new theoretical directions and assessments –opened up by the
work of Leroi-Gourhan and in a different way by Marshack– have echoed in the
philosophical work of Derrida, Deleuze and Jean-Luc Nancy. The encounter
between philosophy, paleontology, cognitive anthropology and visual semiotics has
lead to an articulation of a new horizon of theoretical questions regarding the
essence of the image. In this proposed paper, I show how the anthropological work
on the unique features of upper Paleolithic cave art has contributed to the
deconstruction of a predominant conception of a representational, static, selfsufficient, self-enclosed image and has concomitantly called for an alternative
paradigm that can accommodate a notion of the image as a dynamic and
developing complexity –the image as a multi-modal performative event-structure.
While the first part of my paper deals with the theorization of the image apropos
developments in research of upper Paleothic cave art, the paper’s second part is
an attempt to bring the question of the image back to the cave and thus ask: how
can contemporary theories of the image illuminate the study of that art? As a case
study I shall focus on the relationship between animal images and hand prints,
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2010/06/20)
primarily in Gargas.
Keywords: image theory, painting-event, visual meaning, philosophy, phenomenology.

Mythological structure of the cavern sanctuary Shulgan-Tash
(Kapova), Russia
by Viacheslav G. KOTOV
Institute of History, Language and Literature of the Ufa Scientific Center of the Russian Academy
of Science – Ufa, pr. Oktiabria, 71, 450054, Russia – [email protected]
Abstract
In this paper, the author analyzes the way images of the Shulgan-Tash sanctuary
are located; groups and compositions of images have been distinguished. The
structure of the sanctuary is based on the interrelation of images with the wall relief
and the cave’s topography. The character of the interrelations of images inside the
compositions allows the reconstruction of the hierarchical value of this or that
image and the general consequence of a mythological text.
Keywords: Palaeolithic art, cave art, mythology, Urals.

Les pierres figures dans l’art pariétal européen
par Yanik LE GUILLOU
Ministère de la Culture – UMR 5608 du CNRS – [email protected]
Résumé
Dans certaines grottes, il y a 10 000 ou 20 000 ans, le regard de l’homme s’est
intéressé à des formes naturelles des parois. Cet intérêt nous est révélé par
quelques traits incisés ou peints qu’il y a déposés.
Il a vu des têtes dans ces formes. Son regard est interprété par nous en
encyclopédistes naturalistes appliqués. Nous cataloguons ces formes graphiques
selon des critères – simplistes ? : homme ou animal. Et s’il s’agissait d’autre
chose ?
Avons-nous pris acte d’une omniprésence dans ces dessins : celle de l’œil ?
Que racontent ces trois regards : celui de l’œuvre, celui de son auteur et, par
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ricochet, le nôtre qui lit les précédents ?
À travers, entre autres, l’exemple des têtes de Foissac récemment découvertes, je
tenterai de préciser un peu la place de ces trois protagonistes.
Mots Clé : parois, œil, formes naturelles, dessins, auteur, Foissac.

La graphique des signes dans les Pouilles (Italie) : entre le
Paléolithique et le Néolithique (continuité ou hasard ?)
par Laura LEONE
Redazione ArtePreistorica – [email protected]
Résumé
La Grotta dei Cervi, à Porto Badisco (Puglia, Otranto), est l’un des complexes
peints les plus riches du Néolithique européen, mais aussi un temple gardien de
graphismes spéciaux, abstraits et géométriques, associés au cerf. Considérant
certaines de ses particularités, souterraines et graphiques, il est naturel de se
demander combien cette grotte a en commun avec l’art abstrait des grottes
paléolithiques qui se trouvent dans les territoires voisins. En effet, de beaucoup de
grottes paléolithiques sont issus des centaines d’objets recouverts de signes
abstraits et géométriques comme : droites parallèles, zigzags, chevrons, vagues,
encoches, points, cercles, méandres et labyrinthes. Ils sont semblables aux motifs
peints dans la Grotta dei Cervi et à ceux des cavernes ornées de France et
d’Espagne. Bien que nous soyons habitués à séparer nettement le conceptualisme
des chasseurs archaïques et celui des chasseurs évolués, d’après mes études, il
ressort qu’entre la Grotta dei Cervi et les sanctuaires ornés du Pléistocène il y a
quelque chose en commun. Je fais référence aussi à d’autres éléments constants
tels que la disposition des figures sur les parois, la recherche de la forme
significative de la roche, la présence d’un parcours sacré adapté à la planimétrie
naturelle de la grotte, les empreintes de mains et la présence d’enfants. La
question se pose de savoir si ces éléments communs démontrent une continuité
entre les deux époques ou s’ils représentent une similitude fortuite due aux
contingences. De plus, si l’on considère que la lecture de l’art de Badisco a révélé
des résultats psychédéliques et phosphéniques, je me demande si les signes non
figuratifs du Paléolithique n’ont pas aussi la même implication.
Mots-clef : Grotta dei Cervi, phosphènes, signes abstraits, formes sur les murs,
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métaphore psychédélique.

La caza simbólica y la caza simbolizada: dos modelos etnográficos
para entender la ausencia de escenas cinegéticas en el arte rupestre
paleolítico
por Roberto MARTÍNEZ1 & Larissa MENDOZA2
1
Investigador de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México – Instituto de Investigaciones
Históricas, Circuito Mario de la Cueva s/n, CU, Coyoacán, 04510 México, D.F. –
[email protected]
2
Candidato a doctorado por la Universidad de Leiden
Resumen
Aun en el arte más figurativo, la manifestación gráfica no puede ser considerada
como una simple reproducción estilizada del entorno; pues, al pasar por el filtro de
la mente, se atribuye un valor diferencial a los objetos circundantes y, acorde a
ello, se les selecciona, ordena y jerarquiza en el discurso pictórico. Eso significa
que, en la imaginería de un pueblo, no sólo importan los elementos que se
representan sino también los que se excluyen. Siguiendo este orden de ideas, es
de notar la total ausencia de escenas explícitas de caza en la plástica del
paleolítico europeo —arte cazador por excelencia. Lo interesante es que, cuando
lo comparamos con otras manifestaciones artísticas de sociedades cazadoras,
notamos una cierta tendencia a la omisión de esta clase de imágenes.
Paralelamente, observamos que, en los registros etnográficos, diversos pueblos
cazadores suelen evitar decir con claridad que se mata al animal y, en lugar de
ello, tratan el proceso de apropiación como un intercambio socializado. Por el
contrario, múltiples sociedades agrícolas, e incluso estatales, toman a la cacería
como un elemento de prestigio y se valen de ella para simbolizar lo social. Es así
que, en la presente ponencia, retomaremos los modelos planteados por la
etnología para construir una hipótesis sobre el paso de la caza simbolizada a la
cacería como símbolo.
Palabras clave:
etnoarqueología.
arte
paleolítico,
cacería,

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cazadores-recolectores,
simbolismo,
2010/06/20)
Symbolic versus symbolized hunting: Two ethnographic models to
explain the lack of hunting scenes in Palaeolithic rock art
Abstract
Even in figurative art, graphic manifestations cannot simply be considered as
stylized depictions of the environment. As the objects that surround the artist pass
through the mind’s filter, they acquire distinctive values according to which they are
selected, arranged and hierarchized in the pictorial discourse. Therefore, in the
imagery of one people not only the depicted elements matter, but also those which
are excluded. Following this line of thought, there is a noticeable absence of
explicit hunting scenes in the art of the European Palaeolithic –quintessentially a
hunter people’s art. Interestingly, when compared to the artistic manifestations of
other hunter groups, we see a patent tendency to omit this type of representations.
At the same time, ethnographic records show that many hunter groups usually
avoid speaking openly about killing an animal, instead they talk about the
appropriation process as if it was a socialized exchange. Many horticulturalist and
state societies, on the contrary, see hunting as a prestigious activity and make use
of it to symbolize the social. On this basis, the present paper will take up
ethnological models to construct an hypothesis on the transition from symbolized
hunting to hunting as a symbol.
Keywords: Paleolithic art, hunting, hunter-gatherers, symbolism, ethnoarchaeology.

Cultural transmission during the Pleistocene: Tracking siberian Bear
cult iconography into North America
by Lynda D. McNEIL
PhD, Program for Writing and Rhetoric, University of Colorado, Boulder USA –
[email protected]
Abstract
This paper uses a phylogenetic approach to cultural transmission to track the
recurrence of bear cult iconography from the Minusinsk Basin (S. Siberia) during
the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene (ca. 14,000 to 12.000 BC) into North America
along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains (Wyoming and Utah). Expanding
upon prior research regarding bear cult rock art iconography in S. Siberia (McNeil
2005) and congruences with Colorado Plateau Ute (McNeil 2008), the paper
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examines examples of the reproduction and modification of rock art iconography
related to a Siberian bear cult tradition, along with its method of production, style,
and iconic repertoire.
Keywords: cultural transmission, Bear cult, iconography, Minusinsk Basin, Rocky
Mountain region

Sex & drugs & rock art: revisiting three theories on the origins of
visual art in the Pleistocene
by Larissa MENDOZA STRAFFON
PhD researcher at Leiden University, Netherlands – PO Box 9515 2300RA Leiden, Netherlands
– [email protected]
Abstract
From an evolutionary perspective, three theories account for the emergence of the
visual arts. The first states that visual art, like the peacock’s tail, arose as a sexual
strategy to acquire mates. The second, sees visual art as a communal practice,
originated in ritual ceremony. The third theory contemplates a neurocognitive
change that allowed modern humans to conceive visual art at some point during
the late Pleistocene. While all three explanations raise interesting points, a
reassessment is clearly needed. Recent archaeological finds and advances in
evolutionary disciplines might throw new light on the true nature of visual art.
Keywords: Pleistocene art, evolution, sexual selection, sociality, cognition.

Les grottes ornées « au féminin » : le cas de Grotta di Pozzo (AQ, Italie
centrale)
par Margherita MUSSI
Dipartimento di scienze dell’Antichità, Università di Roma La Sapienza Italia –
[email protected]
Résumé
Malgré un nombre élevé de sites archéologiques en grotte relevant du
Paléolithique supérieur, l’Italie fait, depuis toujours, l’effet du parent pauvre en ce
qui concerne l’art pariétal. Les recherches dans ce secteur, qui avaient eu un
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certain développement à l’époque de Paolo Graziosi, ont été par la suite presque
totalement interrompues. La récente reprise de l’activité sur le terrain, tant dans
des sites connus depuis longtemps (Caverna delle Arene Candide, Grotta
Romanelli), que dans de nouvelles localités (Grotta di Roccia San Sebastiano,
Grotta di Pozzo) démontre maintenant que l’art pariétal est certainement plus
fréquent que ce qu’il avait été convenu de croire. Grotta di Pozzo, en particulier,
présente des parois qui, bien que faiblement ornées par rapport à ce qui est connu
dans la zone franco-cantabrique, se caractérisent toutefois par des éléments
empreints d’un caractère « féminin » très explicite. La question se pose donc de la
signification de cavités qui, en Italie comme ailleurs, ont une signature féminine
évidente : pornographie, croyances communes, fonction des grottes, utilisation
symbolique de l’espace, autre chose encore ?
Mots-clef : Italie, art pariétal, symboles féminins, bas-relief paléolithique.

When hunters start looking up
by Luiz OOSTERBEEK
Director do Gabinete de Relações Internacionais do Instituto Politécnico de Tomar – Av. Dr.
Cândido Madureira 13 P-2300 TOMAR [email protected] – Secretary-General UISPP – International
Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences – www.ipt.pt – www.ciarte.eu –
www.arqueomacao.tv
Abstract
Can the concepts of art, religion or ideology be applied to the symbolic expressions
of Pleistocene human groups? Avoiding a mere terminological discussion, the
paper recognises a major difference in the perception of the landscape of
communities that are horizontally driven (hunters following animals in motion) and
of communities that are vertically driven (e.g. farmers depending upon “weather
forecasts”). Revisiting some contexts in Europe and Brazil, it is suggested that this
later perception of the landscape may have emerged before the dawn of farming,
in the context of man-animal symbiotic relations.
Keywords: hunters, groups, Pleistocene, landscape, Europe, Brazil.

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2010/06/20)
L’art et la beauté en préhistoire
par Marcel OTTE
Service de Préhistoire, Université de Liège, Liège Belgique – [email protected]
Résumé
Toute expression plastique possède une propriété première offerte par sa
permanence, à l’inverse et en opposition avec le message mythique qui l’a fait
naître. La sacralité passe alors d’un récit abstrait éphémère à une série d’images
devenues perpétuelles. Cette métamorphose touche davantage la sensibilité que
l’intelligence. Exprimé sous cette forme, et devenu autonome, le message
sollicitera les regards successifs qui lui seront jetés. Comme en tout temps, les
artistes préhistoriques ont restitué le sacré par une voie formelle, ils l’ont traduit par
une beauté plastique.
Mots-clés : images, mythes, beauté, message, émotions.

Art and beauty in Prehistory
Abstract
All plastic expression has a primary property offered by its permanence, in contrast
and in opposition with the mythic message that it brings to life. Sacrality then
moves from an abstract intangible account to a series of images that have become
perpetual. This metamorphosis touches more on sensitivity than intelligence.
Expressed in this form, and having become autonomous, the message begs
successive views that will be made of it. As at any time, prehistoric artists
reconstructed the sacred via a formal path, they translated it by a plastic beauty.
Keywords: images, myths, beauty, message, emotions.

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2010/06/20)
A question of perspective: cave art in context
by Andreas PASTOORS & Gerd-Christian WENIGER
Stiftung Neanderthal Museum – Talstrasse 300, 40822 Mettmann, Germany –
[email protected]
Abstract
Investigations of prehistoric cave art have for a long time neglected the
surrounding context as space, archaeological objects and imprints. Important
impulses came from the work of Leroi-Gourhan (1965), Rouzaud (1996, 1997) and
Bégouën & Clottes (1981). Up to now an integrative structural approach which
analyses cave art as a part of an anthropomorphized landscape is not available.
The presentation synthesizes basics for an innovative archaeo-spatial analysis of
cave sites provided by urban planning and the physiology of the human eye.
Through the analysis of the caves Bédeilhac, Fontanet and Le Portel as test cases
a catalogue of relevant features was selected and defined. The analysis of the
prehistoric remains allows the reconstruction of different concentrations of human
activities. The projection of these concentrations upon the structured cave site
results in four types of locations: Drawing location, supply location, drawing
location including substantial activities and drawing location including consumption
activities. This preliminary pattern clearly shows that the applied methods open
new venues for the archaeological perception of cave sites and of their inhabitants:
Upper Paleolithic humans were very familiar with caves and probably followed a
master plan during their stay in the dark.
Keywords: prehistoric cave art, spatial organization, landscape archaeology, use of
caves.

Celestial symbols revisited
by Emília PÁSZTOR
SEAC – Sohaz 4, Dunafoldvar 7020, Hungary – [email protected]
Abstract
There are elements of Palaeolithic art which are assumed to be celestial symbols.
The most famous is the so-called star map in Lascaux cave in central France and
thought to date back 16,500 years. It shows three bright stars known today as the
Summer Triangle. The Pleiades star cluster has also been supposed to be found
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2010/06/20)
among the Lascaux frescoes. The presentation re-investigates the celestial
symbols by comparative studies and Paleolithic people’s interest in the sky.
Keywords: Europe, Palaeolithic, celestial symbols, constellation, sky lore.

Power of colour
by Simona PETRU
Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana – Zavetiška 5
1000 Ljubljana Slovenia – [email protected]
Abstract
Colours were always part of human life. First pigments appear in archaeological
contexts of the Early Palaeolithic. It is hard to establish if their use was only
practical or if they had symbolic meaning also. Later on, the symbolic value of
colour became a more and more important part of human life and creativity. To the
people with normal eyesight, colours represent a strong emotional stimulant, which
influences psychical and physical well-being. Because of their direct influence to
human subconsciousness, colours become powerful symbols and added strong
emotional sensation to the rock art.
Keywords: colour, Palaeolithic, rock art, female figurines, transformation.

L’existence de signes sonores et leurs significations
par Iegor REZNIKOFF
IREPH – EA373, Département de Philosophie, Université de Paris Ouest, 92001 Nanterre,
France – [email protected]
Résumé
Nous avons étudié les qualités acoustiques de nombreuses grottes paléolithiques
à peintures. La corrélation établie entre les qualités acoustiques et les
emplacements des peintures montre que celles-ci peuvent être aussi comprises
comme l’expression visible de signes sonores invisibles. D’autre part, certains
signes, en particulier les points d’ocre rouge, apparaissent de façon
statistiquement quasi certaine comme des repères sonores. L’on peut distinguer
deux usages du son dans les grottes:
– 25 –
2010/06/20)
1) un usage fonctionnel, nécessaire pour progresser dans la quasi obscurité
(points rouges) ;
2) un usage musical et sans doute rituel. Ces études ouvrent des directions de
réflexions nouvelles.
Mots-clé: son, résonance, images, symboles, rituels.

The symbolism of open-air rock art at the end of the Upper
Palaeolithic in Central Interior Portugal and its possible relation with
natural paths
by Nuno RIBEIRO, Anabela JOAQUINITO, Sérgio PEREIRA & Jorge
FERREIRA
Portuguese Association for Archaeological Investigation (APIA), Portugal – R. de São Julião,
nº 41, 5º esq. 1100 – [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]; [email protected]
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to present the symbolism that exists in several open-air
rock art sites dating to the end of the Upper Palaeolithic in the central part of the
interior of Portugal. Its possible relation with the archaeology of Foz Côa and
Guadiana River in Southern Portugal will be discussed. Sciences such as
anthropology and biology will make their contribution to the study of natural paths
in Prehistory and their link with open-air rock art.
Keywords: symbolism, rock art, natural paths, Upper Palaeolithic, Portugal.

From Pleistocene to the more recent art. Entering the rock as a
universal shamanic theme? Some recent observations from Siberia
by Andrzej ROZWADOWSKI
Institute of Eastern Studies, University of Poznan, Poland – [email protected]
Abstract
Palaeolithic art has often been interpreted as shamanistic, with an emphasis on
universal human responses to trance experiences. It has been suggested that one
of the key aspects of Palaeolithic shamanism was special interaction with the rock
– 26 –
2010/06/20)
or rock surface. In this paper I consider to what extent such a concept is also
significant in other cultures, namely in Siberia and Central Asia, where shamanism
for a long time has enjoyed a vigorous tradition, and if it is also to be found in this
rock art, particularly in the cases which can reasonably be interpreted as
shamanistic? Finding examples which support a hypothesis of particular treatment
of rocks in Asian shamanism I then explore examples of rock arts which not only
follow this idea but, interestingly, also point to other universals (like the idea of
death or killing) which were suggested to be present in Pleistocene cave art.
Keywords: Pleistocene, art, shamanism, Eurasia, rock surface.

De l’iconographie d’un art rupestre à son interprétation
anthropologique
par Georges SAUVET1, Robert LAYTON2, Tilman LENSSEN-ERZ3, Paul
TAÇON4, André WOLDARCZYZ5
1
Centre de Recherches et d’Études de l’art préhistorique (CREAP-TRACES), Université
Toulouse-Le Mirail, Toulouse France – [email protected]
2
Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durhan UK – [email protected]
3
African Research Unit, Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne
Germany – [email protected]
4
School of Humanities (Gold Coast), Griffith University, Southport, Queensland Australia –
[email protected]
5
Centre de Linguistique théorique et appliqué (CELTA), Université de Paris-Sorbonne (Paris 4),
Paris France – [email protected]
Résumé
L’hypothèse selon laquelle la structure iconographique des arts rupestres diffère
profondément, en termes de fréquences des motifs animaliers et de leur
distribution dans les sites, en fonction de l’organisation socio-économique et du
type de croyances est examinée à l’aide de données africaines, australiennes et
européennes issues de sociétés préhistoriques de chasseurs-cueilleurs et
d’éleveurs. La place de l’art pariétal paléolithique d’Europe occidentale est
particulièrement discutée, ainsi que la possibilité de discriminer de cette manière
une organisation totémique ou des pratiques chamaniques.
Mots-clefs : art rupestre, Paléolithique supérieur, structuration, organisation sociale,
croyances.
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2010/06/20)

Le double et la vision : quel niveau cognitif est-il nécessaire pour
associer un dessin à son référent ?
par Matteo Wladimiro SCARDOVELLI
Doctorant en sémiologie à l’Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada (sous la direction de
Daniel Arsenault) – [email protected]
Résumé
L’« art » du Pléistocène peut nous donner des informations utiles autour des
capacités cognitives de ses exécuteurs. En examinant seulement les œuvres dites
«réalistes», il est alors intéressant d’investiguer les processus qui sont à l’œuvre
dans l’acte de la vision. On sait que les objets construits à travers l’acte de la
vision ne sont pas des «donnés naturels», mais le résultat de complexes
élaborations cognitives. Quel est donc le seuil cognitif qui permet à un animal de
mettre en relation la figure d’un cheval avec un cheval « réel » ?
Mots-clés: sciences cognitives, art rupestre, Pléistocène; sémiologie, phénoménologie.

Palaeolithic cave art in Italy: From the iconography of signs to the
underlying symbols
by Dario SEGLIE
CeSMAP – Museum of Prehistoric Art, Pinerolo, Italy – www.cesmap.it
Polytechnic of Torino, Dept. of Museology – IFRAO-UNESCO Liaison Officer –
[email protected]
Abstract
Palaeolithic cave art in Italy is present in various sites located in the Peninsula and
in the Mediterranean islands.
The iconography encompasses different types of signs carved and painted on rock
surfaces, usually inside dark caves and not in the open air. The signs represent
naturalistic figures and geometric or abstract forms.
In this paper a hermeneutics hypothesis is proposed, starting from the
consideration that the signs at present visible are the residuum of a more complex
phenomenon, a "total social fact" (Mauss) proper to the Prehistoric world,
noticeably comprising prayers, gestures, discourse, dances, sounds and music – 28 –
2010/06/20)
realities of course which leave no fossil traces!
In particular the ceremonies organically linked to rock ‘art’ cannot be seen to-day
but thanks to hermeneutical horizons it is possible to plausibly highlight and throw
into relief the silhouettes figuring on the stage of Prehistoric Man.
Keywords: Italy, Palaeolithic art, iconography, symbols, hermeneutics.

Arts and crafts in the Pleistocene
by Anthony SINCLAIR1 & Natalie T. UOMINI2
1
School of Archaeology, Classics & Egyptology (SACE), University of Liverpool, Hartley
Building, Brownlow Street, L69 3GS Liverpool UK – [email protected]
2
British Academy Centenary Project "Lucy to Language, SACE, Hartley Building, University of
Liverpool, Brownlow Hill, L69 3GS UK – [email protected] – http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~nuomini/
Abstract
In Palaeolithic research, art is often seen to address meaning and identity whilst
craft (usually stone tools) responds to function and planning. We argue, however,
that specialists can benefit by dropping this distinction. Using examples from
ethnography and experiment we shall show that craft was also rich with meaning in
the Pleistocene. There are parallels in the way materials are handled and
transformed, the way individuals learn techniques and pass them on, in which
expertise is supported at a community level, and in the symbolic and linguistic
cultural elements that underpin these activities.
Keywords: craft, skill, teaching, learning, lithics.

An anthropological solution to ethnocentric extrapolation in
prehistoric archaeology
by Mike SINGLETON
University of Louvain, Belgium – [email protected]
Abstract
Whatever the subtle, scholarly distinctions between signs and symbols, myth and
reality, man made marks on rock surfaces in the open or within caves were surely
intended to be more meaningful than mere idle doodling or wanton vandalism. But
– 29 –
2010/06/20)
signs and symbols of what? Initially we as (post)modern Europeans have no other
way of coming up with an answer than by starting out from what our minds have
been culturally programmed to take for granted in the way of grouping phenomena
in general categories. Hence archaeologists’ contextualizing Rock Art in keeping
with ecological, economic, political, sociological and cultural factors – it being
commonly assumed that the cultural culminated in prehistoric as in primitive times
in some form of other of Religion. The anthropologist, however, overwhelmed by
empirical evidence, sometimes wonders whether the material he has gathered
plausibly lends itself to being catalogued according to the aforementioned broad
headings. This anthropologist in particular left in the late 1960s for fieldwork in
Africa with a clear and distinct definition of what “being religious” entailed. He
returned convinced that by continuously qualifying his understanding of religion to
meet the sayings and doings of his indigenous interlocutors he ended up not with a
quintessential notion of what Religion universally and univocally is but quite simply
faced with a quite a-religious philosophy and practice of the world. This experience
leads him to wonder in turn whether reading into Rock Art religious meanings is not
yet another instance of the ethnocentric extrapolations typical of our unwittingly
imperialistic intellectualism.
Keywords: ethnocentrism, religion, a-religion, Africa, anthropology.

Armenian Pleistocene rock art as origin of the universal visual motifs
of the Indo-European myths
by Vahan VAHANYAN1 & Gregori VAHANYAN2
1
Ph.D. student, Yerevan Academy of fine Art
Prof., Russian-Armenian State University, “KareDaran” Rock art research center, Armenia –
[email protected]
2
Abstract
In Armenia and in South-Eastern Anatolia (Turkey) have been detected and
interpreted Pleistocene (Upper Palaeolithic) images from some artifacts –vishap
(dragon) stones and rock arts images, which illustrate the main motifs of IndoEuropean myths. These conclusions do not contradict the linguistic,
archaeological, historical, geological and epistemological data.
The biblical mountains of Ararat, in the authors’ opinion, are the main source of the
origin of early knowledge, ideas, myths, cultural traditions and visual art language
– 30 –
2010/06/20)
and not only for the Indo-European civilization. They really are keeping important
information and knowledge in the form of rock art documents describing the
ideological content and the types of transformation of the main cultural ideas and
traditions. They are characterizing the identity of the local community of genetically
related tribes of early hunters and gatherers, the development of intercultural
cooperation and origin traditions of the tribes of the Pleistocene civilizations. They
are characterizing the influence, transformation and distribution of the main motifs
of myths, legends (gods - thunders, tree of life, tree of knowledge, early forms of
cross and swastika, house and “golgofa”, motifs of mount, birds and snake, hunter
and scorpions, heaven and earth, the Trinity, the four parties).
In Armenian Upper Palaeolithic rock art, we can find many prototypes of universal
art archetypes, “primitive religion” symbols, “artistic production” and the origin of
the iconography for the different religious systems until the Christian art as a
reflection of Palaeo-ethnic traditions in keeping with eco-social-cultural changes.
Keywords: Pleistocene art, myth, symbols, dragon, Ararat.

Estudio comparativo de tres tradiciones de arte rupestre de la
Península Ibérica y sus implicaciones antropológicas e históricas
por Juan VICENT GARCÍA, Manuel SANTOS ESTÉVEZ & María Cruz
BERROCAL
IH, CSIC, c/ Albasanz 26-28, E-28037 Madrid España – [email protected] ;
[email protected] & [email protected]
Resumen
Se presenta un estudio comparativo de los tres corpora rupestres más
representativos de la Península Ibérica: el paleolítico, el atlántico, y el
levantino/esquemático. Aspectos como la manera de representar, la perspectiva,
los motivos, las superposiciones, la localización geográfica… se reflejan de
manera complementaria en las distintas tradiciones en unos casos, y de manera
opuesta en otros. Teniendo en cuenta el solapamiento cronológico de algunas de
las representaciones y estilos, analizaremos las manifestaciones rupestres como
estrategias culturales particulares, incompatibles con una visión uniformitaria del
“arte rupestre”. Las contraposiciones y convergencias de las distintas tradiciones
se discuten en cuanto elementos de prácticas sociales determinadas por los
modos de producción, relaciones sociales y trayectorias históricas concretas de
– 31 –
2010/06/20)
sus correspondientes formaciones sociales.
Palabras clave: arte atlántico, arte paleolítico, arte levantino, arte esquemático,
Península Ibérica.

La técnica paleolítica del trazo fino y estriado entre los orígenes del
estilo levantino de la Península ibérica: evidencias para una reflexión
por Ramon VIÑAS1 y Albert RUBIO2
1
Investigador del IPHES Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Universitat
de Tarragona, y Director del CIAR Centre d’Interpretació de l’Art Rupestre de les Muntanyes de
Prades (Montblanc, Tarragona) – [email protected]
2
SERP, Departamento de Prehistoria de la Universidad de Barcelona –
[email protected]
Resumen
El hallazgo de una serie de conjuntos rupestres en abrigos al aire libre, con
representaciones de animales con rasgos naturalistas (grabadas con la técnica
paleolítica del trazo fino y estriado), y relacionadas en su forma y temática con el
denominado estilo “Levantino” del Arco Mediterráneo de la Península Ibérica, nos
obliga a reflexionar sobre la pervivencia de esta técnica y sus implicaciones en el
origen del estilo levantino.
Palabras clave: gravados rupestres, Paleolítico, Postpaleolítico, Arte levantino,
cronología.

Mythes et Symboles dans les manifestations artistiques du
Paléolithique supérieur : la place des assemblages animal/animal,
animal/humain, humain/humain
par Anne-Catherine WELTÉ1 & Georges LAMBERT2
UMR 6249 du CNRS, Laboratoire de Chrono-environnement, UFR des Sciences et des
Technique – 16, route de Gray, 25030 BESANCON cedex, France – [email protected] ;
2
[email protected]
Résumé
L’art paléolithique est une des manifestations les plus extraordinaires de l’esprit
– 32 –
2010/06/20)
humain. Celui-ci donne de la réalité une vision (exacte, recomposée, ou
imaginaire) au travers de ses propres filtres sensoriels, émotionnels,
conceptuels…
Dans cette communication, les auteurs s’attachent à l’étude des assemblages
d’animaux (associés, composites, modifiés…) et des humains dans l’art mobilier
de France au Paléolithique Supérieur, sans exclure des comparaisons
méthodologiques avec l’art pariétal. Ces manifestations, réalistes ou non, sont à la
fois des indicateurs sociologiques, des symboles mythologiques plus ou moins
cryptés. Leur fréquence et leur répartition géographique, conjuguées à la typologie
précise du graphisme et à l’exploration des associations de sujets, révèlent des
systèmes sociaux potentiels qui ont servi de cadre ou de limite à ces formes
d’expression.
Mots-clés : Paléolithique supérieur,
assemblées, système social.
France,
art
mobilier,
spiritualité,
figures

The place of associations animal/animal, animal/human et
human/human in the Myths and Symbols of Upper Paleolithic art
Abstract
Paleolithic art is one of the most interesting manifestations of the human mind. This
art gives a real, re-built or imagined sight of reality through particular sensitive,
emotional or intellectual filters.
In this paper, the authors study engraved mobile supports of the Upper Paleolithic
in France, without excluding some considerations about the rock art. They discuss
the associations of humans, animals und unreal or re-built figures on the same
piece. These figures, realistic or not, hold both social information and more or less
concealed mythological symbols. The frequency of the items, their geographical
spread joined to a precise typology and an exploration through the figure
associations reveal potential social systems which structured or framed this way of
art expression.
Keywords : Upper Paleolithic, France, mobile art, spirituality, associated items, social
system.

– 33 –

IFRAO CONGRESS PLEISTOCENE ART OF THE WORLD

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