Cave Paintings Research Articles

The role of materiality in numerical cognition

Numerical elaboration and the extension of numbers to non-tangible domains such as time have been linked to cultural complexity in several studies. However, the reasons for this phenomenon remain insufficiently explored. In the present analysis, Material Engagement Theory, an emerging perspective in cognitive archaeology, provides a new perspective from which to reinterpret the cultural nexus in which quantification develops. These insights are then applied to representative Neolithic, Upper Palaeolithic, and Middle Stone Age artifacts used for quantification: clay tokens from Neolithic Mesopotamia, notched tallies from the European Upper Palaeolithic, hand stencils with possible finger-counting patterns as documented at Cosquer and Gargas, and stringed beads from Blombos Cave in South Africa.

An alternative chronology for the art of Chauvet cave

It is now 20 years since the discovery of the Grotte Chauvet with its impressive cave art, but controversy continues over the antiquity of the images. Radiocarbon assays have been used to argue that the ‘black series’ charcoal drawings date to the Aurignacian period, more than 20 000 years earlier than traditional stylistic models would suggest. This paper questions the validity of the radiometric dating and cautions against reliance solely on the date of the charcoal. Instead, the authors propose an alternative chronology for the art of Chauvet based on stylistic comparanda, palaeontological remains and stratigraphic evidence.

Noticias arqueológicas sobre Algeciras (Cádiz) en los inicios del siglo XX y nuevos datos de la colección de D. Emilio Santacana

Willoughby Verner, un coronel británico retirado en su casa de “El Águila” en Algeciras, publicó en 1911 unos artículos sobre la Cueva de la Pileta (Benaoján) que fueron el motivo de una intensa relación con el abate H. Breuil con quien publicaría, cuatro años después, una monografía sobre las importantes pinturas prehistóricas de esa caverna. Poco antes, en 1908-1909, E. Romero de Torres en su Catálogo monumental de España. Provincia de Cádiz había estudiado los restos medievales de la ciudad donde vivía W. Verner, y con este motivo conoció la colección arqueológica que había formado en Algeciras D. Emilio Santacana, el comerciante y cónsul de Bélgica que fuera alcalde de la ciudad durante la celebración de la importante Conferencia internacional de Algeciras de 1906.

Culture crash: the killing of the creative class

IJEMHHRVol. 17, No. 2 • 2015 439 Scott Tinberg is an adjunct writing professor, a blogger on West Coast culture, and an award-winning journalist. In this book, he observes that the number of Americans who earn their living by making art is decreasing, and traces its implications. After World War II, the arts were not only a means of entertainment but a road to self-development and knowledge, a road that is now in disrepair. He spends too much time on describing the plight of white middle-aged males, rather on such groups as young women of color. Nevertheless Tinberg makes the case that the demise of newspapers, of risk-taking film companies, and of bookstores, record stores, and video shops, rob its former customers of an informal but effective educational milieu. The profit motive bears responsibility for this unhappy state of affairs and has impacted the middle culturally as well as economically. Tinberg describes the creative class as those who work with their minds at complex levels, including physicians, lawyers, software engineers, publishers, critics, and book and record store clerks in addition to such obvious groups as artists, architects, musicians, filmmakers, performers, and the like. Timberg displays an in-depth knowledge of Western culture and this grounding serves him well when he discusses the vicissitudes of the 21 st century. He tells his readers how ancient cave paintings were not only done for esthetic reasons but to magically attract deer and other animals for the hunters' bows, arrows, and club. To the medieval mind, the painter was of little account except for channeling the glory of God and the saints. Musicians of the late Middle Ages were stationed outside of towns so that they could alert guards as to the approach of enemies and marauders. During the Renaissance, artists and musicians became advertisements for the nobility. The 18 th and 19 th

Tracking in Caves: Experience Based Reading of Pleistocene Human Footprints in French Caves

Some of the painted caves in southern France preserve human footprints from the Ice Age of 17,000 years ago. Research has so far dealt with them sparsely and through a morphometric approach only. In 2013 three indigenous hunters/trackers from the Kalahari had an opportunity to read several spoor accumulations in four caves on the basis of their indigenous knowledge. As a result of this morpho-classificatory approach to track reading they produced new hypotheses on prehistoric cave visitors. Most spectacular is the narrative which the trackers generated from the footprints not far from the clay bison at Tuc d’Audoubert. Further research is planned to inspect more tracks and look into the epistemological status of the indigenous tracking method.

Influential entomology: a short review of the scientific, societal, economic and educational services provided by entomology

1. Entomology as a written science probably originated with the ancient Greeks; Aristotle being regarded as the first published entomologist. It was, however, not until the Renaissance and the invention of the microscope that any further advances were made. The formation of national entomological societies in the early and mid‐19th century heralded the blossoming of entomology as a scientific discipline.2. The role of entomology in the development of ecology as a science is often overlooked, but important concepts in ecology such as the role and types of mimicry, the theoretical development of population dynamics and island biogeography all have their roots in the pioneering work of entomologists.3. Insect products have long played a part in the economies of human civilizations stretching back several thousand years from the development of the silk industry in China to modern day uses of the excretory products of Hemiptera such as cochineal and shellac.4. The study of entomology has had indirect applications in human medicine and genetics, such as the development of cryostorage techniques based on an understanding of the freeze‐avoidance strategies of Antarctic insects to the direct use of Dipteran larvae in maggot debridement therapy.5. Insects and their products have been used as sources of food by humans since before written records existed, the use of honey for example, being recorded in pre‐historic cave drawings. Insects as recognisable entities such as lepidopteran larvae and adult locusts, play a significant role in the diets of some cultures, but increasingly, the idea that processed insect material can be used as mainstream human and livestock food is gaining ground with a number of commercial enterprises being formed.6. Culturally insects have long inspired humans, from ancient Egypt and their veneration of scarab beetles, portrayal of insects in ancient Mesoamerican art, in European painting from the medieval period onwards and in literature, poetry, and the performing arts including cinema and music. Although the depiction of insects has not always been positive, it is undeniable that they have had a marked influence on human culture.7. Insects have also influenced engineers, with their form and function inspiring the development of airless tyres, desert water collection devices and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Uranium–thorium dating method and Palaeolithic rock art

Abstract Dramatic progress was seen in 14C-dating with the introduction of accelerator mass spectroscopy (AMS) which made possible the direct dating of prehistoric artworks painted or drawn with charcoal. However, in the case of engravings and red paintings, only indirect methods can be used that allow us to date deposits that have covered the works over time (TL, U/Th, oxalates, etc.). The uranium/thorium dating method gives reliable and relatively precise results in the case of massive speleothems, because the sampling is carried out at the heart of the material where the hypothesis of a closed system (that is, no exchange with the outside environment) is justified in most cases. Unfortunately, the situation is quite different in the case of thin layers of calcite that overlie Palaeolithic cave drawings. The conditions under which calcite forms depend largely on the hydrologic activity, which has greatly varied over the course of the Upper Palaeolithic and Holocene. In many cases, we can see that the growth of speleothems stopped during much of the Upper Palaeolithic. Consequently the ages obtained are minimum ages (terminus ante quem) which are frequently much younger than the real ages of the underlying artworks. Moreover, a much more serious but rarely considered source of error contradicts the assumption of a closed system. In thin layers of carbonate deposits and in damp media, the uranium incorporated into the calcite during its crystallization may be partially eliminated because of its solubility in water. Uranium leaching causes an artificial increase of the age that may reach considerable proportions (e.g. a negative hand in a cave in Borneo was dated to 27,000 years by U/Th whereas its 14C age was only 8–10,000 cal BP; Plagnes et al., 2003). Due to these two contradictory sources of error, the dates given by the U/Th method may prove to be younger or older, with deviations that are much larger than the standard deviations given by laboratories. As a result it is nearly impossible and very dangerous to base archaeological reasoning on U/Th ages of Palaeolithic artworks, so long as the dates are not confirmed by an independent method, dating the carbonates in the same samples by 14C being the best means of detecting anomalies. The application of the U/Th method for the dating of prehistoric rock art is still experimental. Technical improvements (for less damageable sampling) and fundamental research on the causes of errors are needed.

Case Study on Elementary Converged-instruction using the of Art history: In ‘Animation of Cave painting’

Case Study on Elementary Converged-instruction using the of Art history: In ‘Animation of Cave painting’

Selective Spectral LED Lighting System Applied in Paleolithic Cave Art

This article aims to find an optimal solution for illuminating cave art, based on the improvement of color reproduction and minimizing the damage caused by visible radiation on the painting. To improve visual perception, a light source with optimal spectral distribution has been calculated. This spectral distribution minimizes the damage, maximizes the colorimetric distance between the color of the rock paintings and the closer stone, and takes into account how it was lit by the author. A mathematical function has been used to optimize the spectral distribution of the light source. With this aim, a tunable red–green–blue (RGB) light emitting diode (LED) luminaire has been used. It has been found that the new calculated lighting of the cave does not alter the environmental conditions by performing a test of algae growth and thermographic measurements.

“Good acoustics” is culturally determined: Evidence that prehistoric performance space selection was based on different world views

“Ideal” performance spaces are in the ear of the listener. Cases will be presented to argue that the response to a particular set of acoustic characteristics of a space is a function of the world view of the audience/performers. For example, in today's modern society that values speech intelligibility and appreciation of polyphonic classical and contemporary music, a distinct echo in a performance space is considered an unforgivable fault. However, in the ancient past when wave characteristics of sound were not understood, virtual sound effects arising from complex sound wave interactions (echoes, reverberations, interference patterns, etc.) were misinterpreted as invisible beings (echo spirits, thunder gods, sound absorbing bodies, etc.) as described in ancient myths around the world. Some of these myths contain accounts of purposeful searches for the best echoes, which were worshiped. Scientifically conducted experiments involving blindfolded participants show how various ambiguous sounds can be interpreted in more than one way (like optical illusions). Sound level measurements demonstrate that cave paintings and canyon petroglyphs were placed in locations with the strongest echoes. Prehistoric flutes have been found in reverberating caves. These experiments thus can help in understanding our ancestors’ perceptions and reactions to sounds they considered supernatural (https://sites.google.com/site/rockartacoustics/).

Auditory illusions arising from lack of visual clues

Auditory illusions arising from lack of visual clues will be discussed and related to prehistoric cave art and Stonehenge. In the ancient past, when the wave characteristics of sound were not understood, virtual sound effects arising from complex sound wave interactions (echoes, reverberations, interference patterns, etc.) were misinterpreted as invisible beings (echo spirits, thunder gods, sound absorbing bodies, etc.) as described in ancient myths around the world. Scientifically conducted experiments involving blindfolded participants show how various ambiguous sounds can be interpreted in more than one way—like optical illusions. The blindfold in this case is a metaphor for ignorance of the wave nature of sound. It is proposed that ancient peoples were looking at the apparent source of sound and not seeing anything, and so concluded that the sounds emanated from beings that could not be seen. These experiments thus can help in understanding our ancestors’ perceptions and reactions to sounds they considered mysterious and spooky. These discoveries are just a few examples of research findings that are springing from the new field of Archaeoacoustics. See https://sites.google.com/site/rockartacoustics/ for further examples.

Auditory illusion demonstrations as related to prehistoric cave art and Stonehenge

Auditory illusions will be demonstrated, and their relevance to prehistoric cave art and Stonehenge revealed. In the ancient past, when the wave characteristics of sound were not understood, virtual sound effects arising from complex sound wave interactions (echoes, reverberations, interference patterns, etc.) were misinterpreted as invisible beings (echo spirits, thunder gods, sound absorbing bodies, etc.) as described in ancient myths around the world. In this session, live hands-on demonstrations will be given to small groups of students who can experience for themselves these types of auditory illusions. Participants will get to experience various sounds and will be given the task of interpreting what the sounds are, first blindfolded, then with visual cues. (Previous student reactions have included “Whoa!,” “Wow!,” “Amazing!,” “Cool!,” and “What??.”) These scientifically conducted experiments show how various ambiguous sounds can be interpreted in more than one way—like optical illusions—and thus can help in understanding our ancestors’ reactions to sounds they considered mysterious and spooky. These discoveries are just a few examples of research findings that are springing from the new field of Archaeoacoustics. See https://sites.google.com/site/rockartacoustics/ for further examples.

The evolution of human communication.

We have all likely displayed wonderment on how human communications have evolved from a rather primitive, and likely effective for the time period, cave drawings, to a myriad of languages, and then to our present day highly sophisticated internet modalities. One might even say that YouTube is a greatly enhanced and accelerated cave drawing with sound. Our command of electronic communication and interactive devices has thus far gone from finger control to voice command. In the article, “Knock Once For YES, Twice For No”, Professor Bernard Perbal has enticed our neural centers with the possibility of conscious brain-to-brain communication, in wireless mode. If able to be accomplished in the future he writes that the ‘wide use of such applications might seem a long way off, they raise quite a number of ethical, legal and societal issues’. Professor Perbal, a long time proponent of the individual’s rights to their own genetic information, the essentiality of freedom of speech, and the importance of communication, has laid out some very thoughtful arguments, and provided some fascinating experimental evidence for why brain-to-brain communication should be seriously entertained. After all, if brain is the last frontier in our research endeavors, then communications between brains, in all its variations, should be one area of research that is highly warranted. As indicated large scale international consortia are busy mapping out the brain circuitry in the hope, like genomics, that once we have all the coordinates and molecular details we will be able to understand our incredible ‘brainy’ supercomputer and treat illnesses with precision. However, in the same way genetics has now been confounded by epigenetics, non-coding DNA, and RNA bits and bytes, we might expect that the basic brain map may be confounded by yet, undefined circuits and unexplained phenomena, like telepathy. As another example of how original conceptions have been thrown out the window comes from the field of sensory perception. One could now say that our bodies are one incredible taste and odorant sensor (Foster et al. 2014). So can brain-to-brain communications stand on their own or, as many of you know from everyday experiences, the visual (even using past memories) is an essential element for total comfort with your communicator (Perrodin et al. 2015). And, while you are busy reading this online please note the following (Kuhn and Gallinat 2015). The journey into the future new world of brain-to-brain communication will be with some trepidation. In comparison to information transmission through the ether, we can all appreciate current practical applications such as controlling prosthetic limbs by integration of the nervous system, a truly fantastic advance. There is no doubt, as Professor Perbal states that mind over matter, machines, and other brains, would have enormous implications for us and the world. Communication with animals could bring a whole new meaning to ‘man’s best friend’. Once we really open up this Pandora’s Box then we have to be prepared to use our collective wisdom to avoid possible abuse and misuse.

Attachment to Pets

Article Abstract Because this piece does not have an abstract, we have provided for your benefit the first 3 sentences of the full text. This book explores the nature of the human-animal relationship within a phylogenetic and ethologic framework, reviewing the history and nature of the attraction/bond, delineating its socio-psycho-biological correlates, and describing the breadth and mechanism of its therapeutic usefulness. Human-animal connections have been lauded in one form or another since the beginning of time. One has only to observe ancient cave drawings of dogs, which date back 32,000 years or so.

Neuroesthetics is Not Just about Art.

Neuroesthetics is Not Just about Art.

Only connect: ecology between ‘late’ Latour and Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams

In recent articles and lectures, Latour’s ecological thinking has given a central role to the Gaia theory, in which he develops his own model, often shortened to ‘Gaia’. This recent work on ecology is dependent on An Inquiry into Modes of Existence. Here, the concept of ‘networks’ from earlier work moves into a richer domain of multi-disciplines; these ‘diplomatically’ bring many different networks to the conference table. ‘Gaia’ as Latour continues its ‘composition’ invites investigation from many ‘modes of inquiry’. Gaia as a conceptual model is caught between affirming certain anthropomorphizing significations while requiring to be released from any singular, metaphorical grip. As an appropriate interlocutor to tease open the problematic of Gaia’s networks, I bring to the table Werner Herzog’s poetic and ecological documentary, Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Anthropologically and artistically, the film explores the Chauvet Cave of the Ardeche Gorge, with its cave paintings dating back 35,000 years. While He...

The chronology of hand stencils in European Palaeolithic rock art: implications of new U-series results from El Castillo Cave (Cantabria, Spain).

The hand stencils of European Paleolithic art tend to be considered of pre-Magdalenian age and scholars have generally assigned them to the Gravettian period. At El Castillo Cave, application of U-series dating to calcite accretions has established a minimum age of 37,290 years for underlying red hand stencils, implying execution in the earlier part of the Aurignacian if not beforehand. Together with the series of red disks, one of which has a minimum age of 40,800 years, these motifs lie at the base of the El Castillo parietal stratigraphy. The similarity in technique and colour support the notion that both kinds of artistic manifestations are synchronic and define an initial, non-figurative phase of European cave art. However, available data indicate that hand stencils continued to be painted subsequently. Currently, the youngest, reliably dated examples fall in the Late Gravettian, approximately 27,000 years ago.

The community distribution of bacteria and fungi on ancient wall paintings of the Mogao Grottoes.

In this study, we compared the microbial communities colonising ancient cave wall paintings of the Mogao Grottoes exhibiting signs of biodeterioration. Ten samples were collected from five different caves built during different time periods and analysed using culture-independent and culture-dependent methods. The clone library results revealed high microbial diversity, including the bacterial groups Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Gemmatimonadetes, Planctomycetes, and Chloroflexi and the fungal groups Euascomycetes, Dothideomycetes, Eurotiomycetes, Sordariomycetes, Saccharomycetes, Plectomycetes, Pezizomycetes, Zygomycota, and Basidiomycota. The bacterial community structures differed among the samples, with no consistent temporal or spatial trends. However, the fungal community diversity index correlated with the building time of the caves independent of environmental factors (e.g., temperature or relative humidity). The enrichment cultures revealed that many culturable strains were highly resistant to various stresses and thus may be responsible for the damage to cave paintings in the Mogao Grottoes.

Discussion: by Blanca Ochoa and Marcos García-Díez

In a recent paper by Ochoa and García-Díez (2013) the available evidences for a chronology of western Pyrenean Paleolithic cave art are critically analyzed and discussed, and an alternative chronological organization is proposed on the basis of stylistic comparison. In this paper we discuss the critics made to the immediate context dating proposals in Altxerri B, Askondo and Etxeberri by giving the detailed information that has been recently published (Garate and Rios-Garaizar, 2012; Garate et al., 2012; González-Sainz et al., 2013). We also discuss the validity of the stylistic comparisons proposed by Ochoa and García-Díez (2013) for the Gravettian and the Magdalenian art. Finally we discuss the problems for establishing a reliable chronological framework for Paleolithic rock art in this area.

The ontogeny of visual-motor memory and its importance in handwriting and reading: a developing construct.

Humans have evolved a remarkable ability to remember visual shapes and use these representations to generate motor activity (from Palaeolithic cave drawings through Jiahu symbols to cursive handwriting). The term visual-motor memory (VMM) describes this psychological ability, which must have conveyed an evolutionary advantage and remains critically important to humans (e.g. when learning to write). Surprisingly, little empirical investigation of this unique human ability exists--almost certainly because of the technological difficulties involved in measuring VMM. We deployed a novel technique for measuring this construct in 87 children (6-11 years old, 44 females). Children drew novel shapes presented briefly on a tablet laptop screen, drawing their responses from memory on the screen using a digitizer stylus. Sophisticated algorithms (using point-registration techniques) objectively quantified the accuracy of the children's reproductions. VMM improved with age and performance decreased with shape complexity, indicating that the measure captured meaningful developmental changes. The relationship between VMM and scores on nationally standardized writing assessments were explored with the results showing a clear relationship between these measures, even after controlling for age. Moreover, a relationship between VMM and the nationally standardized reading test was mediated via writing ability, suggesting VMM's wider importance within language development.