:: notes on the origins of art ::
:: towards a clearer understanding
of the evolution ::
:: of symbolic and creative behaviour in humans ::
This essay was produced to accompany my recent exhibition Modern Palaeolithic held in November 2009, and essentially forms a summary of the current archaeological theories on the origins of cultural and symbolic expression among human primates who originally lacked such functions in their societies. Contrary to the popular belief that art and culture emerged quite suddenly in the Upper Palaeolithic Revolution 30,000 years ago in Europe and the Middle East, there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that symbolism first evolved in the Middle Palaeolithic at least 50,000 years previously, and by adopting a polyvalently logical viewpoint, in which 'Maybe' plays a significant part, there exists the possibility that primitive notions of symbolism and iconicity are visible much earlier than even anatomically-modern humans, leading to the suggestion that 'culture' and 'art' may have evolved much more slowly and steadily than the 'Revolution' theory posits.
A longer, illustrated version of this essay is available as a limited edition booklet from the Shop. Two further essays are planned in this series, which will explore the origins of the earliest symbolistic forms and the possible selective pressures for the emergence of culture.
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Anatomically Modern & Cognitively Modern
3. What Is Art?
4. Evolution, Not Origins
5. The Clouding Effects Of Symbolic Cognition
6. Drawing A Line: 80,000 Years
7. Heuristic, Not Progressive
8. Summary Of The Survey Of Objects
9. In Closing
'Notes On The Origins Of Art - Towards A Clearer Understanding
Of The Evolution Of Symbolic And Creative Behaviour In Humans
'
Copyright (c) 2009 - Bruce Rimell
Summer 2009
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