Chapter 1 - Archaeology, Anthropology, and Dreaming

Abstract

The association between dreaming and art extends back 35,000 years to western European cave paintings, and back 4000 years to the first decipherable writing. The capacity to dream may describe the point at which we became recognizably human, marking the development of reflexive consciousness and of two-dimensional paintings, elaborate burials, and complex language by our Homo sapiens ancestors. The southern European Paleolithic cave paintings are located at the primary site and time of transition from a world occupied by a variety of proto-humans to a single Homo species. These paintings reflect on a genetic, social, and cognitive hybridization developing between species that experienced the world in different, yet complementary ways. A cognitive approach that includes dreaming and self-reflexive consciousness would have been required for the creation of this cave art. Archaeological findings from Neanderthal sites indicate that their cognitive processing was probably quite different. The remarkable cave art that flourished during the interface of contact emphasizes the differences between the species. Dreaming versus non-dreaming may be the difference in conscious processing that existed between the Homo species. Today, dreaming is utilized both visually and cognitively in the personal creative process and in the creation of products. Successful creative writers and film-makers are significantly more likely to use dreams in their creative process. Individuals who do not dream are unlikely to be involved in creativity-based processes. Based on the association between dreaming and creativity, there is good evidence that dreaming is one of the primary cognitive processes supporting species survival.