There was a time when Paleolithic cave paintings were construed primarily through the lens of “art,” an interpretive stance which assumes that at least some Paleolithic peoples were “artists” who painted for pleasure. Because this lens is so subjective (and creative), all manner of interpretations were offered. Whether prosaic or fanciful, this approach raised troubling [...]
Tags:altered states of consciousness·art history·ASC·cave art·cave paintings·dark zone art·David Lewis-Williams·doodles·entoptics·flutings·form constants·France·functionalism·hallucination·Jessica Cooney·Kevin Sharpe·Leslie Van Gelder·Paleolithic·petroglyphs·play·ritual·Rouffignac·shamans·symbolism
In a collaborative (subscription seeking) arrangement with the Paris Review, Slate has just published a riveting piece on “America’s Ancient Cave Art” by John Jeremiah Sullivan. Many of these Cumberland and Tennessee Valley caves have been only recently discovered and their locations are largely secret. Except for a small group of Southeastern archaeologists, their existence [...]
Tags:Adena·Altamira·altered states of consciousness·Appalachia·ASC·cave art·cave cosmology·cave rituals·cave symbolism·Chauvet·Cherokee·Cumberland·David Lewis-Willliams·entoptic images·entoptics·form constants·hallucinations·Hopewell·Jan Simek·John Jeremiah Sullivan·Lascaux·Mayan·Mississippian cultures·Mound Builders·Natchez·Paleolithic·petroglyphs·rock art·San rock art·Southern Death Cult·Southestern Ceremonial Complex·Tennessee
A friend just visited Zion National Park in Utah and took some amazing photos of petroglyphs in the backcountry. Given that these are carved into the rock, there really is no way to date them directly. I am not sure of the occupational sequence for that area, but there seems to be no reason these [...]
Tags:altered states of consciousness·Anasazi·entoptic·Paiute·Paleoindian·petroglyphs·rock art·shamans·Zion National Park
