The Memory Code: Unlocking the Secrets of the Lives of the Ancients and the Power of the Human Mind

by Dr. Lynne Kelly

Hardcover, 2017

Status

Available

Call number

930.1

Collection

Publication

Atlantic Books (2017), Edition: Main, 336 pages

Description

"In ancient, pre-literate cultures across the globe, tribal elders had encyclopedic memories. They could name all the animals and plants across a landscape, identify the stars in the sky, and recite the history of their people. Yet today, most of us struggle to memorize more than a short poem. Using traditional Aboriginal Australian song lines as a starting point, Dr. Lynne Kelly has identified the powerful memory technique used by our ancestors and indigenous people around the world. In turn, she has then discovered that this ancient memory technique is the secret purpose behind the great prehistoric monuments like Stonehenge, which have puzzled archaeologists for so long. The henges across northern Europe, the elaborate stone houses of New Mexico, huge animal shapes in Peru, the statues of Easter Island--these all serve as the most effective memory system ever invented by humans. They allowed people in non-literate cultures to memorize the vast amounts of information they needed to survive. But how? For the first time, Dr. Kelly unlocks the secret of these monuments and their purpose as "memory places" in her fascinating book. Additionally, The Memory Code also explains how we can use this ancient mnemonic technique to train our minds in the tradition of our ancestors."--Book jacket.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member nicdevera
The thesis is that Stonehenge, the Nazca lines, the Easter Island moai, and many (most?) other early non-practical constructions are memory palaces. Surely true up to a degree, spatial arrangement of memory is intuitive, hardwired into human brains. But as is common with someone with a pet theory,
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overreaching seems inevitable. I read most of the book as a cautionary tale of pattern-matching confirmation bias. Good way to brush up on the current state of archaeology.
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LibraryThing member mmparker
I really enjoyed this book, although I found Dr. Kelly's confidence and hyperbolic language pretty offputting for a semi-academic work. Whatever. A theory that posits that humans across all of history are intelligent and value knowledge isn't going to get much complaint from me right now.

Language

Original language

English

Physical description

336 p.; 6.42 inches

ISBN

1782399054 / 9781782399056
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