The Origins of Iconic Depictions: A Falsifiable Model Derived from the Visual Science of Palaeolithic Cave Art and World Rock Art

Hodgson, D.; Pettitt, P.B.

doi:10.1017/s0959774318000227

The Origins of Iconic Depictions: A Falsifiable Model Derived from the Visual Science of Palaeolithic Cave Art and World Rock Art

Hodgson, D.; Pettitt, P.B.

Authors

D. Hodgson

Professor Paul Pettitt paul.pettitt@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

Archaeologists have struggled for more than a century to explain why the first representational art of the Upper Palaeolithic arose and the reason for its precocious naturalism. Thanks to new data from various sites across Europe and further afield, as well as crucial insights from visual science, we may now be on the brink of bringing some clarity to this issue. In this paper, we assert that the main precursors of the first figurative art consisted of hand prints/stencils (among the Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens) and a corpus of geometric marks as well as a hunting lifestyle and highly charged visual system for detecting animals in evocative environments. Unlike many foregoing arguments, the present one is falsifiable in that five critical, but verifiable, points are delineated.

Citation

Hodgson, D., & Pettitt, P. (2018). The Origins of Iconic Depictions: A Falsifiable Model Derived from the Visual Science of Palaeolithic Cave Art and World Rock Art. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 28(4), 591-612. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0959774318000227

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Apr 3, 2018
Online Publication Date	May 3, 2018
Publication Date	Nov 1, 2018
Deposit Date	Apr 25, 2018
Publicly Available Date	May 16, 2018
Journal	Cambridge Archaeological Journal
Print ISSN	0959-7743
Electronic ISSN	1474-0540
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	28
Issue	4
Pages	591-612
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1017/s0959774318000227

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Copyright Statement
This article has been published in a revised form in Cambridge archaeological journal https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959774318000227. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. © McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research 2018.