“The first two-dimensional images were thus not two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional things in the material world, as researchers have always assumed. Rather, they were ‘fixed’ mental images.”
James David Lewis-Williams“There were at least four contexts in which San shamans acquired insights into the spiritual world: – the trance dance, – special curing rituals, – viewing rock art, and – dreams.”
James David Lewis-Williams“A shaman’s activities as a sorcerer, or his own conscious act of entry into the supernatural world, were a kind of “killing”.”
James David Lewis-Williams, The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art“Entering a cave” or rock was a metaphor for a shaman’s altered state; therefore, caves (and rocks more generally) were considered entrances or portals to the supernatural world.”
James David Lewis-Williams, The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art“In Lascaux and other sites, hoofs are depicted to show their underside, or hoofprint.”
James David Lewis-Williams, The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art“Once human beings had developed higher-order consciousness, they had the ability to see mental images projected onto surfaces and to experience afterimages.”
James David Lewis-Williams, The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art“Improved memory made possible the long-term recollection of dreams and visions and the construction of those recollections into a spirit world.”
James David Lewis-Williams, The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art“I believe it is reasonable to assume that higher-order consciousness developed neurologically in Africa before the second wave of emigration to the Middle East and Europe.”
James David Lewis-Williams, The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art“Shamanism is not simply a component of society: on the contrary, shamanism, together with its tiered cosmos, can be said to be the overall framework of society.”
James David Lewis-Williams, The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art“The ‘wounded men’ may, I argue, represent a form of shamanistic suffering, ‘death’ and initiation that was closely associated with somatic hallucinati”
James David Lewis-Williams, The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art“Shamans submit to death in order to serve their communities.”
James David Lewis-Williams, The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art