#cave shaman

[thesorceresstemple]

Neil Krug 

[artofmaquenda]

My shaman cave art pins that I still have available :D

https://artofmaquenda.etsy.com/listing/1171717729/limited-edtion-shaman-pins-prehistoric

[numinous-theo]

The ‘Shamanic Interpretations’ of Paleolithic Parietal Art and the Contextualization of their Broader Socio-Cultural Significance

[This is an article I originally wrote for a course on academic writing. I've added a lot of changes]

Deep within the French caves in the Dordogne region, there are several archaeological sites of parietal art (paintings and engravings on cave walls and ceilings) left behind by humans from the upper paleolithic (35k-10k years ago). Alongside parietal art of handprints, human figures, and geometric shapes and patterns, the caves consist of detailed cave paintings and well carved engravings of big-game animals and fierce predators. Though many of the parietal art are fascinating, I (the author of this article, and as a student of religious studies) am mostly interested in the animal depictions and the possible religious significance it could have had for the paleolithic image-makers who created them.

This will be a literature review. Throughout the article, I will be presenting the findings and data collected by archaeologists and researchers. Then, I will discuss the possible religious significance that parietal art may have had, and their possible connection with ritual behavior. To support these interpretations, I will discuss the ideas of religious studies scholars and anthropologists on the topic of ritual behavior.

To specify which caves I will be discussing, I have decided to focus on four caves located in the Dordogne region of France: Lascaux, Font-De-Gaume, Grotte de Cussac and Rouffignac.

1 | The first part of this article will focus on these caves and the parietal art found within them. Within the archaeological community, many have interpreted the parietal art as imitative representations of what the image-makers saw and witnessed in real life — an artistic method also known as Mimesis. This mimetic interpretation would explain the depictions of animals and certain hunting scenes.

2 | Unsurprisingly within religious studies, the artistic depictions of animals and predators within the various caves throughout Europe have also been associated with Hunting Magic. Magic, in the broad sense (and within the context of this article), refers to practices and rituals that aim to alter reality or bring forth physical changes in the world. This also applies to the term ‘Magico-Religious’, which additionally incorporates the belief in supernatural beings. Thus, hunting magic is often understood as rituals and practices that the paleolithic humans may have performed to ensure fortune and avoid misfortunes during hunts. This will be the focus of the second part of the article. Here, I will discuss the idea that the imitative representations of animals and hunting scenes could have been related to mythological thinking, animism, and consequently hunting magic. I present this interpretation to support my claim of hunting magic being related to animistic beliefs. Animism in this article will refer to the belief in inanimate and animate objects (mostly animate objects) possessing intellection and volition of their own free will.

3 | However, it would also be important to note other reasons (other than religious) for such art to be made. As in social and cultural reasonings. This is where my main thesis will arise and develop throughout the article. That the creation of parietal art may have also had socio-cultural factors in addition to religious and spiritual.

4 | For the fourth part, I will discuss the depictions of therianthropes (half man and half animal) and their possible relationship with shamanistic practices. Often such shamanistic practices will depend on a ritual specialist, the shaman, who will enter trance and commune with the spirits on behalf of the community.

5 | However, I will also discuss and explore the other aspects as to why the paleolithic image-makers would have decided to create such art. Additionally, I will discuss what broader significance shamanistic practices and rituals might have had for their community and culture. This will be the focus of the fifth part of this article, and essentially the main thesis of my article. That even though the parietal art found in the caves may have held a religious significance and been related to shamanistic ritual behavior, it could also have held a broader socio-cultural significance to the paleolithic community.

Literature List

Aubert, M., Lebe, R., Oktaviana, A.A. et al. (2019, 11 December). Earliest hunting scene in prehistoric art. Nature 576: 442–445 (2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1806-y.

Dunbar, R. (2022). How Religion Evolved: And Why it Endures. Penguin Books.

Eliade, M., Trask, W. R., & Doniger, W. (2004, 08 February). Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Princeton University Press.

Gay, I., Plassard, F., Müller, K., & Reiche, I. (2019, 16 December). Relative chronology of Palaeolithic drawings of the Great Ceiling, Rouffignac cave, by chemical, stylistic and superimposition studies. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 29: 102006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.102006.

Kedar, Y., Kedar., G., & Barkai, R. (2021, 31 March). Hypoxia in Paleolithic decorated caves: the use of artificial light in deep caves reduces oxygen concentration and induces altered states of consciousness. Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture, 14(2): 181–216. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1751696X.2021.1903177.

Ledoux, L., Berillon, G., Fourment, N., Muth, X., & Jaubert, J. (2021). Evidence of the use of soft footwear in the Gravettian cave of Cussac (Dordogne, France). Scientific Reports 11, Article number: 22727. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02127-z.

Marquet J.-C., Freiesleben T. H., Thomsen K. J., Murray A. S., Calligaro, M., et al. (2023) The earliest unambiguous Neanderthal engravings on cave walls: La Roche-Cotard, Loire Valley, France. PLOS ONE 18(6): e0286568. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286568

Reiche, I., Coquinot, Y., Trosseau, A., & Maigret, A. (2023). First discovery of charcoal-based prehistoric cave art in Dordogne. Scientific reports, 13(1): 22235. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47652-1.

Strathern, A. (2019). Unearthly Powers: Religious and Political Change in World History. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108753371.

Sahlins, M. (2022). The New Science of the Enchanted Universe: An Anthropology of Most of Humanity. Princeton University Press.

[fishareglorious]

i love this funky little beast

[knightofhylia]

Reminder that shamanism is an indigenous Tungusic spiritual practice and therefore if they are not part of that practice they are not a "shaman". Shaman as become an appropriated term for anyone who does trances or magic, completely glossing over that cultures have THEIR OWN TERMS when referring to their spiritual leaders.

[palaeosinensis]

A little preview of a "what if" project I've been noodling around with. They're not done albeit they're fairly close and there's more I haven't shared yet.

[castilestateofmind]

"Whatever the inward darkness may have been to which the shamans of those caves descended in their trances, the same must lie within ourselves, nightly visited in sleep".

-Joseph Campbell.

[quatermasspitt]

"Cave Bear Ceremony" by Zdeněk Burian, 1962

[mrmillionmiles]

What's your cave man name

[new--tomorrows]

Dusk at Robber's Roost, Cocinino National Forest, Arizona. 12 January 2023.

[loneberry]

“Finally, we need to notice that a number of caves contain evidence for stalactites, especially of the undulating ‘drapery’ kind, having been struck, though we cannot always be sure that this was done during the Upper Palaeolithic. These stalactites emit a deep booming sound when struck. In the Réseau Clastres in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, they have been struck by someone standing on the far side; someone entering the cave with only a lamp or burning torch would not easily see the percussionist, and the sound would swell and resonate from the darkness in enveloping waves.

The effect of rhythmic sound, especially drumming and chanting, is widely recognized as a means of contacting the world of spirits.”

—David Lewis-Williams, The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art

A cave can be a giant drum! I’ve always been awe-inspired by the cathedral-like acoustics of caves

[masterbuildertarot]

~ 🧙 Me commenting on TikTok videos where cave junkies squeeze them selfs into tight spots and accidentally die. Or does this resonate as a life reflection? Shaman 101 ~ Sa'Ra 😁🥵 #DarkCave

[munsonroe]

I always feel weird about trying to make trans characters, mostly because I feel as if I cant speak to it. My transition has felt so deeply abnormal and sort of in competition with a slipping sense of personhood that I lack experiences to draw from.

I do not challenge perceptions of me, and thus my feelings stay personal. Because I do not feel like a person, those feelings do not exist.

and so I am disgusted and apathetic with myself.

[diamondnokouzai]

'playing in a field of flowers would fix me' the only thing that would fix me would be getting to watch my own skull get shattered like a priceless vase

[sergioguymanproust]

There’s power in places such as this one.My Native American brothers and sisters have known this for thousands of years,while some can only capture what their senses perceive,we already know where the vortexes and so called Ley lines crossed,there’s a grid that covers the whole planet .In the Four Corners states deep in in those canyons you can call your ancestors in sacred spots marked with petroglyphs.There where the waters meet the light of the dying sun and the shadows appear ,if you know your tribes elders mantra you can enter the portals and entering in a trance unite with those sacred spirits. There in those canyon walls the silent smoke raises following the air currents into an invisible prayer chanted by a shaman to ask for blessings of the tribe and the blessings of each season.To those who travel through the desert ignorant of the sacred valleys, spots, the only one request is not to take any artifacts found in the canyons ,they belong to those spirits that still roam their land until they are ready to leave ,remember that a thousand years is but a second to a wandering spirit. Many times those who took even a pottery shard found the hard way how bad fortune fell upon them until they were told to return the artifact to its original resting place. So friends be mindful of your actions,while traversing those places.Other than that ,enjoy your adventure in the desert.Words by Sergio GuymanProust.