Materials used for self-ornamentation also suggest the development of extensive trade networks during this period. Seashells used for necklaces in France have been found more than 100 miles from their origin. Some archeologists have suggested that exchanges of materials used for self-ornamentation may have played an important role in the development of allied groups of people: “Current theories suggest that extensive networks of marriage, friendship, and exchange grew up along chains of bead-giving and receiving.” Such gifts may also “function as mnemonic devices on a par with place names and kin terms.” Thus, a necklace of incised red deer teeth may represent friendship between one group and another, unrelated group that shared a cooperative hunt of red deer the previous autumn.9
INTENTIONAL BURIALS WITH GRAVE GOODS
One of the most dramatic new behaviors exhibited by modern Homo sapiens was the addition of grave goods to some intentional human burials. Hominins had been dying for six million years, but for most of that time there is no evidence that anything had been done with the bodies of deceased hominins other than leaving them on the ground to decay or to be eaten by scavengers. The first definite evidence of intentional burials occurred between 90,000 and 100,000 years ago; 11 relatively intact individuals were found buried in the floors of caves in Israel, presumably placed there by early Homo sapiens who had apparently migrated to southwest Asia. Between 75,000 and 35,000 years ago, multiple intentional burials were carried out by Neandertals. As noted in chapter 3, such intentional burials may represent caring behavior in these hominins, who had acquired a theory of mind, or may merely represent a method of disposing of a dead body so that it did not attract predators.10
Then, beginning approximately 28,000 years ago, a series of remarkable burials took place in which useful and valued items were buried with the deceased. Such items are called grave goods. The oldest such burial discovered to date was at Sungir, 120 miles northeast of Moscow. A man and two children were interred with an “astonishing material richness” that almost certainly was intended to assist them in an afterlife. The three bodies were dressed in clothing decorated with over 13,000 ivory beads; recent research has estimated that one bead would have taken up to one hour to carve. The arms of the man were adorned with 25 polished ivory bracelets, and he wore a red pendant around his neck. The adolescent male child wore a belt decorated with 25 fox teeth and had an ivory, animal-shaped pendant around his neck; beside him was a carved ivory mammoth and an ivory disc. The female child’s body was accompanied by three ivory discs with intricate latticework, several ivory lances, and two antler batons, one of which was decorated with rows of drilled dots. Both children had six-foot mammoth tusk spears at their sides. In a northern climate in which obtaining sufficient food, clothing, and shelter must have occupied much time and energy, this was an extraordinary array of material goods to bury in the ground.11
Similar burials, dated to 27,000 years ago, have been discovered in the Czech Republic, 1,200 miles southwest of Sungir. At one site, 18 individuals were buried together, covered by mammoth bones and limestone slabs. At another site, Dolní Vĕstonice, a young woman and two young men were interred together, with the woman lying between the men. The positions of the bodies have elicited spirited discussion among researchers: the woman’s head was turned toward one man, who was looking away, while the other man was turned toward the woman with both his hands resting on her crotch. The heads of the men were encircled with pendants of pierced arctic fox, wolf teeth, and mammoth ivory. Red ochre and mollusk shells were also abundant in the grave. The Dolní Vĕstonice site was occupied for at least 2,000 years by mammoth hunters who lived in houses made of wood and mammoth bone. One of the houses had been constructed using 23 tons of mammoth bones. Over 700 clay figurines have been found at the site, the world’s first-known ceramics, as well as a Venus figurine dated to 26,000 years ago, some phallic carved ivory batons, and the remnants of what appears to be basketry.12
Another unusual burial, also dated to 27,000 years ago, was unearthed in Austria. Two newborns, thought to be twins, were covered with ochre, decorated with ivory beads, then placed in the grave beneath a large mammoth scapula that was supported by a piece of ivory tusk. The scapula thus sheltered the bodies from the dirt used to fill the grave. Similarly, in Italy a grave of two children has been dated to this same period. They were buried with more than 1,000 perforated snail shells “arranged around the pelvis and the thighs, possibly decorating loincloths.” Another double burial in Italy that may be even older included an elderly woman and an adolescent, “their heads protected by stonework”; the adolescent had four rows of snail shells around its head, and the woman had two shell bracelets. In Siberia, a young boy, wearing “an ivory diadem, a bead necklace, and a bird-shaped pendant,” was buried under a stone slab 24,000 years ago.13
The total number of known burials from this period, such as those described earlier, is relatively small, but there are reasons for this. Since most such burials apparently took place in the open rather than in caves, it is difficult to know where to look for them. Several of the known burials have been accidentally discovered during modern construction projects. In addition, many of the earliest burials were found in central or eastern Europe, where, compared to France and Spain, much less archeological research has been carried out.14
Some scholars have disputed whether these burials were truly the first-known burials with grave goods. In Australia, a 40,000-year-old burial of a Homo sapiens had apparently been covered with red ochre, a pigment that had been carried from 120 miles away. In South Africa in what is probably an even older burial, an infant was buried with “a perforated Conus shell, presumably an ornament or amulet” that had been brought from 35 miles away. Other scholars have argued that some of the earlier Neandertal burials also included grave goods. Much of the debate centers on the definition of what constitutes grave goods. On one side of the debate are those who argue that grave goods should include such things as “ochre, implements of stone or bone, unmodified animal bones, etc.” Advocates for this position point to the finding of animal bones and deer antlers in the early Israeli cave burials as evidence of intentional grave goods.
One study reported that more than one-third of intentional human burials between 75,000 and 35,000 years ago included such grave goods. On the other side of the debate are those who argue that the floors of the caves where such burials took place were probably littered with stone tools, bones, and occasional pieces of ochre and thus it would not be surprising if some of these had been inadvertently included when the grave was being filled. As Ian Tattersall noted, the bones and antlers included in the graves “are hardly very impressive” as grave goods. Such critics point out that no grave prior to 40,000 years ago included grave goods such as shells, beads, bowls, or other items that were commonly included as grave goods in later burials.15
An especially contentious debate has centered on a 50,000-year-old multiple Neandertal burial in Shanidar Cave in Iraq. Included in two of the graves was an abundance of flower pollen, which “suggested to its excavators that the deceased had been laid to rest on a bed of spring flowers.” For many years, this burial was cited as proof that Neandertals not only buried their dead but did so with ritualistic behavior suggesting a belief in an afterlife. More recently, however, it was discovered that local rodents, called jirds, have burrows in this area and that jirds commonly store seeds and flowers in their burrows. As Richard Klein and Blake Edgar noted in The Dawn of Human Culture, “The jird explanation is less exciting than the human one, but it is in keeping with the total lack of ritual with other Neandertal burials, including the others at Shanidar Cave.” The relationship between grave goods and a belief in an afterlife will be discussed in more detail later.16
THE ADVENT OF THE ARTS
Among the new behaviors exhibited by modern Homo sapiens beginning approximately 40,000 years ago, the advent of the arts has elicited the most popular interest. According to researchers, the advent of the arts, es
pecially the visual arts, is of interest to modern humans because it suggests “the origin (or one of the origins) of something that is quintessentially human, something that sets us apart from animals and pre-humans.” The visual arts were created “at a time when human society as we know it was being born.” Since writing did not begin until thousands of years later, these artistic creations are as close as we will ever come to having a record of this period.17
Some archeologists have questioned whether modern Homo sapiens was really the first hominin to create works of art. As previously noted, some Neandertal experts have claimed that Neandertals used perforated teeth and bones as pendants, made figurines out of ivory, and even modified a piece of flint to resemble a mask. The authenticity of these, however, has been disputed. Even if some of them are authentic, Paul Mellars observed, “the sheer scarcity and isolation of these objects … make it difficult to see this kind of symbolic expression as a real and significant component of Neandertal behavior.” By contrast, the production of visual art by modern Homo sapiens was said to be “an orgy of artistic creation at every level, from the mere scribble to true masterpieces.”18
The variety and abundance of visual art created during this period are impressive. Although the polychrome cave paintings are best known, artists of this period also made engravings, clay models, sculptures, figurines, and decorated objects of all kinds. Over 300 caves have been found containing art, the majority in France and Spain. Lascaux Cave alone contains 1,963 paintings and engravings, half of which depict animals, the remainder being geometric figures. The abundance of art is also remarkable, given estimates that the total population of France 22,000 years ago was only 2,000 to 3,000 people, and for all of Europe, about 10,000.19
The earliest examples of art from this period discovered to date are stenciled handprints from the Leang Timpuseng cave on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia and drawings of geometric figures from El Castille cave in Spain, both dated to about 40,000 years ago. The earliest findings from the major painted caves are the extraordinary paintings in Chauvet cave, the earliest of which are dated to 36,000 years ago, and a drawing of a pig-like animal, dated to at least 35,400 years ago, in the cave on Sulawesi. The era of major cave art continued for over 20,000 years, with more recent examples being caves at Altamira (14,000 years ago) in northern Spain, and Niaux (13,000 years ago) in southwestern France. The last cave art that has been found is in caves in Sicily at Levanzo and Addaura, both dated to about 11,000 years ago. After that, the European cave art tradition appears to have died out, at the same time that Europe was warming and the agricultural revolution was getting underway.20
At about the same time that the earliest cave paintings were being done, the earliest known sculptures were also being carved. In a series of caves in the Swabian Alps in southern Germany, sculpted ivory figurines of a lion, a mammoth, a bison, and a man with a lion’s head and a figurine of a woman’s body, all dated to 35,000 to 40,000 years ago, were found. The last was apparently used as a pendant and is a forerunner of similar female figurines carved over the next 10,000 years, found widely across central Europe and commonly referred to as Venus figurines. The most famous example, found in the Willendorf Cave in Austria, is adorned with bracelets, has an elaborate hairstyle, and was covered with red ochre. The common characteristics of these figurines are grossly exaggerated breasts, hips, and vulvas, leading researchers to assume that the figurines were associated with fertility or food surplus. Anthropologist Robin Dunbar described these figurines as “Michelin-tyre ladies,” while archeologist Paul Mellars characterized them as “paleo-porn.” In addition to the female figurines, many sculptures of animals, carved out of ivory, also date to this period: mammoths and lions were the subjects of choice, but horses, bears, and bison were also carved. Eight bone flutes, made from the wing bones of vultures and swans, have also been found, with the oldest dated to 42,000 years ago; these are the first known musical instruments.21
For many years, it was thought that there had been a progression in the European cave art, from simpler forms in the earliest centuries to more complex forms in later centuries. Such theories were proven wrong with the discovery of Chauvet Cave in 1994, which has paintings equally as sophisticated as any found at Altamira almost 20,000 years later. What does seem clear is that there was an increasing production of visual art during this period, and this production was seen everywhere modern Homo sapiens settled. Thus, by about 15,000 years ago in Europe, “people decorated their harpoons, spear points, spear-throwers, and other artifacts with naturalistic engravings, fine carvings of wild animals, and elaborate schematic patterns.” In South Africa, ostrich shell water bottles were being incised with geometric designs. In Namibia, pictures of felines, rhinoceroses, and a giraffe-like creature were being painted on flat stones. In Australia, Brazil, and India, geometric designs and pictures of animals were decorating rock shelters. And in China, deer antlers were being incised with abstract designs.22
Since these visual art productions are essentially the only “written” record we have from this important period, it is worth examining them in more detail. In the caves, there are three main themes: animals, human handprints, and geometric figures. Animals are very prominent, with the vast majority of them being animals that were being hunted. Thus, an analysis of 981 cave art animals reported the following statistical breakdown: horse 28 percent, bison 21 percent, ibex 9 percent, mammoth 8 percent, auroch 6 percent, deer 6 percent, reindeer 4 percent, lion, bear, and rhinoceros 2 percent each; and 12 percent assorted others. The selection of animals differs by cave; for example, at Chauvet, lions, mammoths, and rhinoceros are most numerous, whereas in the cave at Cosquer, horses and ibex are most numerous. By contrast, depictions of other animals such as hyenas, rabbits, rodents, snakes, birds, fish, and insects are rare to nonexistent. There is also no landscape included—the focus is solely on the animals.23
It is also noteworthy that the artists of this period attempted to depict the animals as realistically as possible. As noted by one art critic, “The artists seemed to aspire to represent a naturalistically convincing image of an animal, and their knowledge of its shape, stance, coat and expression indicates acute observation of the animals and their habits.” For example, the painting of the spotted horses in the French cave at Pech Merle, dated to about 25,000 years ago, had been thought by some observers to be symbolic or fanciful. However, DNA studies of ancient horse bones recently confirmed that such dappled horses did indeed exist at that time, and the authors of the report concluded that such “prehistoric paintings were closely rooted in the real-life appearance of the animals depicted.” Another example is drawings and paintings of walking horses. It is known that horses actually walk as follows: left hind, left fore, right hind, right fore. A study comparing depictions of horses by ancient cave artists and depictions of horses by recent artists from the past 200 years reported that the cave artists got the walking sequence correct more often than did the more recent artists. The author concluded that “cave painters understood—better than many artists of the modern age—the laws governing animal motion.”24
The degree of artistic excellence achieved by many of the artists is impressive. In some cases, the natural contours of the cave wall were incorporated into the paintings. At Chauvet, for example, the horn of a rhinoceros follows the curve of the rock wall. In one panel, two rhinoceroses are squared off to fight; in another, a group of lions appears to be stalking prey; and a third panel, 30 feet wide, includes four horses, four bison, and three rhinoceroses. Twenty thousand years after Chauvet, the ceiling in the Altamira cave, dated to about 14,000 years ago, was covered with “21 magnificent painted bison outlined and shaded in black, red bodies engraved in the glistening, creamy limestone. They crouch, lie down, shake their manes, charge across the ceiling, heads turned, tails flying, drilled eyes dark as coal.” As in the Chauvet Cave, the artists at Altamira took advantage of natural contours of the rock so that one bison, whose head is turned to look b
ack, appears three-dimensional because its head is painted on an outcropping of rock. One senses that the artists had great respect, even reverence, for their subjects and that such paintings may represent an animal apotheosis. In this regard, there is also evidence that feasting took place at the entrance of the cave. Altamira Cave has been called the Sistine Chapel of Paleolithic art, and when Picasso visited it, he exclaimed: “We have invented nothing!”25
In contrast to the abundant animal figures, human figures in the cave art are relatively rare. Those that do exist are crudely drawn, often no more than stick figures. In some cases, the human figure is part of a hunting scene. For example, in Lascaux Cave, there is only one human figure among 915 animals. According to one analysis of the Lascaux drawing, “Apparently the man has wounded the bison, whose intestines are spilling out, and the bison has knocked over the man.” Among the sculptures and figurines (portable art), human figures are more commonly found, especially the Venus figurines described earlier.26
Still another type of figure found among the cave art of this period is a composite human and animal figure, called an anthropozoomorph. One researcher claimed that there are more than 50 such figures “of men that are part animal and part human, or at least of men wearing animal disguises,” but many of these figures are quite ambiguous. The best-known example, and probably the single most widely reproduced example of cave art, is a human-animal composite in Trois-Frères Cave in France; it is dated to approximately 15,000 years ago and was designated by one researcher as “the sorcerer of Les Trois Frères.” Another well-known example is an ivory statue of a man with a lion’s head, dated to about 40,000 years ago, found in a cave in southwest Germany, as mentioned earlier. The possible meaning of these figures will be discussed later.27
Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods Page 11
