Preface: Reassembling the Bones .............................. viii
Note on the Illustrations ...................................... xi
Drawn from Ufe
Who were these peoples and what was the context of their art?
What were those times like, across the 30,000 years we call
the Eurasian late Paleolithic? Is it possible to resolve
questions such as why people went into caves to do their art?
The biases of preservation are profound, and we must be aware
of how they affect our collection of art from this period.
This is our groundwork chapter. ................................. 1
Paleolithic Artists as Naturalists
These artists were witnesses to a world very different from
our own; what did they see? The images they made say something
not only about the surroundings of those times but also about
the preoccupations of the artists. They were immersed in the
subject of large mammals, but why? They saw and drew things
that paleontologists could never have reconstructed, for
example, pin-striped horses and polka-dotted reindeer. Close
attention to such observations helps us explore what may
have been on their minds. ...................................... 51
Tracking Down the Pleistocene Artists: The Unemphasized Role
of Children
Were most Paleolithic people artists or was art making done
by only a select few? Are there forensic clues as to which
sex and which age-groups figured predominantly as the makers
of preserved Paleolithic art? Few books on Paleolithic art
mention children, but we know that children made up more than
half of the Eurasian Paleolithic population, and there is
good reason to believe that they were learning to use the
art-making materials of the adult world. Is there any
evidence of art making by Paleolithic children? There is,
and children are going to be much more important in this
"adult-interest" book than you might ever imagine. ............ 113
Testosterone Events and Paleolithic Imagery
Biases in the fossil record are often the result of
fundamental biological differences. Was that the case with
preserved Paleolithic art? How could inherent differences
between the sexes and among different age-groups influence
art making? We'll consider this in terms of hand forensics,
subject choice, art media, art location, and art
preservation. It is quite an amazing story. ................... 151
The Art of Hunting Large Mammals
Spears are flying and animals bleeding—why are there so many
hunting-related images in this art collection? Was hunting a
peripheral fascination, like rugby, or was it part of the
central adaptive preoccupation of our evolutionary line?
Patterns we find in Paleolithic art over tens of thousands
of years seem to relate to a special kind of interaction of
people with the landscape, with the animals that inhabit it,
and with each other. Does this suggest an inherent
connection, a unity, between lifeway and art making? The
ancient human niche is there to be discovered. Come join me
in that search. ............................................... 209
Full-Figured Women - In Ivory and in Life
Why are there more images of women than of men? And why are
they nude and often obese? Why do we find all those images
of genitals? Are male and female differences a fundamental
part of the aesthetic experience and hence of art making?
Digging deep into fat and nudity allows us to find
surprising order, and much else. You won't be bored. .......... 303
The Evolution of Art Behavior in the Paleolithic
Art, just what is it anyway? Can we look at Paleolithic art,
and perhaps at art making in general, as a kind of adaptive
human behavior? If art is an epiphenomenon, then why do all
cultures devote great quantities of time and resources to
it? Is it possible that art is not a costly wasteful aside
but rather the expensive means, the surprising route, to
another unrecognized sector of our life? My answer is yes. .... 373
Bands to Tribes: The End of the Pleistocene and the
Extinguishing of Paleolithic Art
Why did Paleolithic art disappear about 10,000 years ago?
Art in virtually all cultures reflects a shift to more
abstract and stylized forms about that time. Is there a
story behind these post-Pleistocene developments? Does it
say anything about human nature and change? ................... 401
Throwing the Bones: Paleolithic Art and the Evolution of
the Supernatural
How does the supernatural figure into Paleolithic art?
Certainly the supernatural seems to have been and still is
important in all societies—does it too have a natural
history? Was the supernatural a natural part of these
Paleolithic people's lives, and of ours as well? There is
a good story here, and I try to uncover it. Consiglieres
and Fixers help. .............................................. 435
Appendix 1. Paleolithic Handprint Analysis, by Amy
Blanchard ......................................... 461
Appendix 2. An Intuitive Way to Look at the Hand Biometrics
Using Bivariate Plots ............................. 463
Some Words of Thanks .......................................... 471
References .................................................... 473
Index ......................................................... 497
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