Stoned-age art

Post cave-related articles published in the mainstream media here. Please observe copyrights, posting only short excerpts with link to full article.

Moderator: Moderators

Stoned-age art

Postby Joe Duxbury » Apr 13, 2021 7:17 am

Have any of you seen the recent newspaper articles about Stone Age cave painters deliberately starving themselves of oxygen to bring about hallucinations? The theory, according to newspaper reviews of a study in the journal 'Time and Mind', is that they 'intentionally induced a state of hypoxia'. Personally, I think it's a load of tosh. The researchers may have modelled the effect of torches decreasing the levels of oxygen in underground car parks, spaces 'similar' to where cave paintings are found (really?), but did they try painting under these conditions? The cave paintings are so perfect and sophisticated that I don't believe they could have been created while the artist was experiencing 'hallucinations and out-of-the-body experiences'. Which aren't produced by hypoxia, anyway. The Haaretz newspaper has a long review, with many contradictions - I wonder if the newspaper has misinterpreted the the original study.
Over to you.
Joe Duxbury
Infrequent Poster
 
Posts: 12
Joined: Sep 23, 2008 11:03 am
NSS #: 59829
  

Re: Stoned-age art

Postby Squirrel Girl » Apr 24, 2021 10:35 am

Thanks, Joe! I've see that. But it makes me wonder.... I am taking a drawing class now, and it's hard enough to draw in my un-inebriated state! To do those beautiful paintings while stoned? I guess as you say, "load of tosh!" :-D I guess I'm not surprised we agree! I know that modern archaeologists of the SW (USA) note the presence of hallucinogenic plants near rock art sites. I might suggest that people might have had altered states that caused them "see" things. But it would be another time that they painted or chiseled those images onto/into the rock. IMHO.

PS - good to hear from you. I'm terrible about keeping in touch
Barbara Anne am Ende

"Weird people are my people."
User avatar
Squirrel Girl
Global Moderator
 
Posts: 3198
Joined: Sep 5, 2005 5:34 am
Location: Albuquerque, NM
NSS #: 15789
  


Return to Caves, Caving In The News Forum

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users

cron