Cave Art, Autism, and the Evolution of the Human Mind
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6044735 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nicholas Humphrey (0000-0002-4429-8270, New School, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1998 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 165-191 |
| Publication date | 1998-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Cambridge Archaeological Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0959-7743 • E-ISSN: 1474-0540 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0959774300001827 |
| OpenAlex | W2118693467 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 19 |
| References cited | 22 |
The emergence of cave art in Europe about 30,000 years ago is widely believed to be evidence that by this time human beings had developed sophisticated capacities for symbolization and communication. However, comparison of the cave art with the drawings made by a young autistic girl, Nadia, reveals surprising similarities in content and style. Nadia, despite her graphic skills, was mentally defective and had virtually no language. I argue in the light of this comparison that the existence of the cave art cannot be the proof which it is usually assumed to be that the humans of the Upper Palaeolithic had essentially ‘modern’ minds
Archaeology · Art · Autism · Cave · Cave painting · Developmental psychology · Girl · Visual arts · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · History · Multisensory perception and integration · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Psychology
Autistic Spectrum Disorder in Prehistory
Shamanism and Cognitive Evolution (with comments)
Brain Disorder and Rock Art
Autism, the Integrations of ‘Difference’ and the Origins of Modern Human Behaviour
Shamanism and Brain Illness in Rock Art Production
Hominins and the emergence of the modern human brain
Artists have superior local and global processing abilities but show a preference for initially drawing globally
“Now You See it, Now You Don't”—Modern Human Behavior in the Middle Paleolithic
Autism and engagement with material culture
Symbolic Revolutions and the Australian Archaeological Record
Vision and visual experience in European Celtic Art
How Do We Explain ‛Autistic Traits’ in European Upper Palaeolithic Art
Are there alternative adaptive strategies to human pro-sociality? The role of collaborative morality in the emergence of personality variation and autistic traits
Seeing the ‘Unseen
Cave mentem
The Evolution of the Human Self
Upper Paleolithic art, autism, and cognitive style
Bringing science to the study of ancient senses - archaeology and visual psychology
An Early Case of Color Symbolism
Autism
Believing and seeing
Art and the Creative Unconscious
Portable and Wall Art in the Volp Caves, Montesquieu-Avantès (Ariège)
The Signs of All Times
The Human Symbolic Revolution
Looking and learning
Thematic changes in Upper Palaeolithic art
Power and Knowledge
Interaction and Alliance in Palaeolithic Society
| Unique citing works | 19 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,79 |
| Citation span | 2002 - 2024 (23) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 14 |