The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art

Description

What does the breathtakingly beautiful art depicted on the walls of caves such as Lascaux, Chauvet and Altamira, tell us about the nature of the ancestral mind? How did these images spring, seemingly from nowhere into the human story? The Mind in the Cave puts forward the most plausible explanation yet proposed for the origins of image-making and art. This is a masterful piece of detective work, casting light on the darkest mysteries of our earliest ancestors and on the nature of our own consciousness and experience.

David Lewis-Williams is Professor Emeritus and Senior Mentor in the Rock Art Research Institute, University of the Witswatersrand, Johannesburg. Among his books are The Mind in the Cave, Inside the Neolithic Mind (with David Pearce) and The Shamans of Prehistory (with Jean Clottes).

'It is hard to praise this book too highly. I have read nothing more fascinating all year' - John Carey, Sunday Times 'The most comprehensive and convincing explanation for the cave art in Europe so far' - Chris Stringer, Evening Standard 'A genuine masterpiece' - Jean Clottes 'A masterly piece of detective work' - Sunday Telegraph 'A thorough, accessible and beautifully illustrated history of the origins of art based on anthropological and neurological research' - Observer 'A fascinating and closely argued analysis' - Colin Renfrew, University of Cambridge