The Shamans of prehistory : trance and magic in the painted caves

by Jean Clottes

Hardcover, 1998

Publication

New York : Harry N. Abrams, 1998. Jean Clottes and David Lewis-Williams ; text by Jean Clottes ; translated from the French by Sophie Hawkes. OCLC Number: 38976143. 120 pages : illustrations (some color), color maps ; 32 cm.

Call number

Art-Pre / Clott

Barcode

BK-07253

ISBN

0810941821 / 9780810941823

Physical description

32 cm

Description

The universality of shamanistic power and practice among today's hunter-gatherers - along with the similarity of rock art found in varied sites around the world - has led Jean Clottes and David Lewis-Williams to suggest in this new book that the great art of paleolithic caves can be best understood through the lens of shamanism. Indeed, this is not a monograph on a particular site, but a general discussion of the art of painted caves and their shamanistic meaning. Through the authors' revealing words and the abundant full-color illustrations, we follow shamans into their trance states, and we watch as they carefully paint and engrave on rock surfaces the shapes of animals whose power they seek. As we learn how drawings and rituals were likely modes of shamanistic contact, we understand best the actions, accomplishments, and traces left behind by prehistoric shamans.… (more)

Language

Original language

French

User reviews

LibraryThing member saschenka
Beautifully illustrated brief book for a public audience outlining Clottes’ belief in a shamanistic explanation for parietal art.

The authors review previous theories (art for art’s sake, totemism, sympathetic magic and structuralism) gauging how these theories helped or hindered our current
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understanding of prehistoric cave art. Examples are mostly drawn from southern Europe, but ethnographic comparisons are global. Late 20C neuropsychological research into the unity of hallucinogenic experience (3 stages of the trance state) is used as a springboard for interpretating ubiquitous symbols and construction methods across multiple locations and time periods.

Well written but occasionally appears sentences were muddled in translation from the French. The arguments build nicely up to the last chapter; at that point, where it does become more hypothetical, I did not always follow the argument. To keep the book shorter, I think some connecting thoughts and explanations may have been lost. A very good introduction to the cave art itself (although more images from other parts of the world would have been very helpful in seeing connections) and a solid foundation for proposing a shamanistic interpretation.
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Rating

½ (8 ratings; 3.9)
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