Ancient cave art puts us in its place

kay

Well-known member
Article in the Guardian on cave painting describes the notable absence of depictions of humans. Lasceaux - lots of large herbivores in the paintings, but the evidence shows that the creators of the art dined mainly on reindeer which were easier to fell with flint-tipped spears. The article argues that the humans of the time would have been very conscious that they weren't the most powerful beings in the area. It goes on to postulate the absence of humans in the pictures reflects a cooperative society where individualism is not welcome, and contrasts it with today's society and obsession with selfies.It quotes Jared Diamond's assessment of the "Neolithic revolution" (the transition from hunter gatherer to farmer) as the greatest mistake humankind ever made, leading to wars, the social class system, patriarchy, slavery. I feel it's an awfully big argument to stand on quite a flimsy foundation, but interesting nonetheless. And there's some good pictures,
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/dec/12/humans-were-not-centre-stage-ancient-cave-art-painting-lascaux-chauvet-altamira
 
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