Paleolithic Finger Flutings and the Question of Writing

Bibliographic Data

ID19002017
AuthorsLeslie Van Gelder (Walden University, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume7
Issue2
Pages141-153
Publication date2014-02-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueTime and Mind (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-696X • E-ISSN: 1751-6978
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1751696x.2014.887344
OpenAlexW1565832181
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited9

Discussions of Paleolithic Cave Art rarely, if ever, explore the possibilities of evidence of writing and yet finger flutings (lines made by fingers in soft moonmilch or clay on cave walls and ceilings) raise significant questions as to what is writing and what internal structures would need to be evident within fluted panels to constitute writing. In this paper, the author shares findings from the French caves of Rouffignac and Gargas, and nine caves in Cantabrian, Spain. This paper does not pose to claim that finger flutings are necessarily writing, but instead raises the question of what elements would need to be present for them to be considered writing, and asks what would be the implications if they did

Archaeology · Cave · Upper Paleolithic · Archaeological and Geological Studies · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · History · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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