- Australia
Robert Bednarik
Hebei Normal University, School of History and Culture, Faculty Member
- Robert G. Bednarik is the Convener and Editor-in-Chief of the International Federation of Rock Art Organisations. His... moreRobert G. Bednarik is the Convener and Editor-in-Chief of the International Federation of Rock Art Organisations. His research throughout the world has resulted in more than 1400 academic publications. His principal research interests are the origins of the human ability to create constructs of reality, and in a variety of fields providing supplementary information in that quest.edit
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The domestication of humans is not an issue of domesticity but of the effects of the domestication syndrome on a hominin species and its genome. These effects are well expressed in the ‘anatomically modern humans’, in their physiology,... more
The domestication of humans is not an issue of domesticity but of the effects of the domestication syndrome on a hominin species and its genome. These effects are well expressed in the ‘anatomically modern humans’, in their physiology, behavior, genetic defects, neuropathology, and distinctive neoteny. The physiological differences between modern (gracile) humans and their ancestors, robust Homo sapiens types, are all accounted for by the domestication syndrome. From deductions we can draw about early human behavior, it appears that modifications are attributable to the same cause. The domestication hypothesis ascribes the initiation of the changes to selective breeding introduced by the consistent selection of neotenous features. That would trigger genetic pleiotropy, causing the changes that are observed.
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This debate paper addresses a proposal to exclude from rock art such phenomena as cupules, hand stencils, abraded grooves and finger flutings, and instead to regard them as gestures and call them ‘rock markings’. It is argued that this... more
This debate paper addresses a proposal to exclude from rock art such phenomena as cupules, hand stencils, abraded grooves and finger flutings, and instead to regard them as gestures and call them ‘rock markings’. It is argued that this term has already been taken, being the generic name of all forms of markings on rock, that the proposed division is not testable and that it is impractical. The proposal also derives no support from empirical evidence and ethnographic perspectives.
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The discovery of petroglyph sites in the Blue Tier mountains (Meenamatt a) of northeastern Tasmania is reported, which raises two specifi c issues. The occurrence of aligned cupules is identifi ed as a distinctive characteristic of... more
The discovery of petroglyph sites in the Blue Tier mountains (Meenamatt a) of northeastern Tasmania is reported, which raises two specifi c issues. The occurrence of aligned cupules is identifi ed as a distinctive characteristic of Tasmanian rock art, and evidence for ritual use of mountain peaks is recognised for the fi rst time in Australia. Dating evidence presented suggests that the Blue Tier sites were used in the second half of the Holocene, and cupules are identifi ed as the most common rock art motif of Tasmania. Also briefl y raised are the implications of the ‘mountain sanctuaries’ reported here to the interpretation of Tasmanian ethnography and cosmology. Introduction Rock art is not a commonly found feature in Tasmania, with few more than thirty sites known on the island. Most of them occur along or near the west coast and in the regions of Hobart and DevonportLaunceston. No confi rmed sites are known in northeastern Tasmania (Sims 1977). Leaving aside a few caves with a...
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T process of knowledge-making in archaeology’s history is nothing if not complex, contested, and historically confounded. Questions of epistemology extend beyond archaeology’s own identity. For over one hundred years, history and... more
T process of knowledge-making in archaeology’s history is nothing if not complex, contested, and historically confounded. Questions of epistemology extend beyond archaeology’s own identity. For over one hundred years, history and philosophy of science has worked to negotiate such intellectual space where philosophers have wrestled with epistemic questions of empiricism, constructivism, and rationalism; historians of science have grappled with the surrounding intellectual and academic contexts; and sociologists of science have worked to reconcile how authority, identity, and power negotiate changing epistemes within the sciences and science communities writ large. Archaeology shares many an intellectual phylogeny with many other disciplines (science and non-science alike) and to examine what it means to know and to create knowledge in archaeology requires an excavation of historical ideas. In short, to examine epistemology in archaeology—particularly through a historical theme—is a d...
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The most extensive corpus of ancient immovable cultural heritage is that of global rock art. Estimating its age has traditionally been challenging, rendering it difficult to integrate archaeological evidence of early cultural traditions.... more
The most extensive corpus of ancient immovable cultural heritage is that of global rock art. Estimating its age has traditionally been challenging, rendering it difficult to integrate archaeological evidence of early cultural traditions. The dating of Chinese rock art by ‘direct methods’ began in the late 1990s in Qinghai Province. Since then, China has acquired the largest body of direct dating information about the rock art of any country. The establishment of the International Centre for Rock Art Dating at Hebei Normal University has been the driving force in this development, with its researchers accounting for most of the results. This centre has set the highest standards in rock art age estimation. Its principal method, microerosion analysis, secured the largest number of determinations, but it has also applied other methods. Its work with uranium-thorium analysis of carbonate precipitates in caves is of particular significance because it tested this widely used method. The im...
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This collection of papers from the 15th UISPP congress seek to integrate perspectives from cognitive evolution and from the study of palaeoart, bringing together the latest key evidence from both disciplines. Different approaches include... more
This collection of papers from the 15th UISPP congress seek to integrate perspectives from cognitive evolution and from the study of palaeoart, bringing together the latest key evidence from both disciplines. Different approaches include a study of the geometry of palaeoart, positing highly sophisticated spatial awareness among early hominins, neurovisual connections, behavioural studies, through the analysis of tools used in rock art production, semiotics, and two more conventional reports from excavations in India.
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After well over a century of archaeological research in Drachenhohle, the largest cave bear lair in the Alps, the first Pleistocene rock art in central Europe has been discovered deep in the cave. Two small panels of juvenile finger... more
After well over a century of archaeological research in Drachenhohle, the largest cave bear lair in the Alps, the first Pleistocene rock art in central Europe has been discovered deep in the cave. Two small panels of juvenile finger flutings occur together with cave bear claw marks at the only water source of the area. The site is within a few metres of the cave's large human occupation site, excavated in 1921. It is attributed to the Alpine Palaeolithic or Olschewian, a tradition of montane-adapted people of the Early Upper Palaeolithic of central Europe. The generic phenomena of finger fluting and moonmilk speleothems are discussed to provide a general context for the subject. The cave art is then described and analysed, and the previous claims for “Palaeolithic” age of other central European sites are briefly considered.
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In January 2015, the government of the People's Republic of China nominated the Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for UNESCO's World Heritage List. The nomination was preceded by... more
In January 2015, the government of the People's Republic of China nominated the Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for UNESCO's World Heritage List. The nomination was preceded by listing Huashan as 'Important Unit of Cultural Relics' in 1988, listing of the entire Landscape as a candidate for nomination in 2003 and by its submission to the Tentative World Heritage List in 2007. This property stretches along the Zuojiang River, close to the Sino-Vietnamese border, over a total distance of more than 200 km in three separate sections, located respectively in Ningming, Longzhou and Fusui Counties. This area is part of the famous southern China karst region with its thousands of towers of Middle Cambrian to Late Triassic limestone, forming one of the most spectacular karsts in the world. As the Zuojiang River winds its way through the mountains, it has created numerous sheer cliffs along its course, many of which feature occu...
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This collection of papers is entirely devoted to cupules, a feature prominently in Peruvian and Bolivian rock art, as well as in Lower Palaeolithic India and elsewhere. The contributors examine issues of dating, interpretation and... more
This collection of papers is entirely devoted to cupules, a feature prominently in Peruvian and Bolivian rock art, as well as in Lower Palaeolithic India and elsewhere. The contributors examine issues of dating, interpretation and methodology. A number of contributions stress the importance of ethnocentric interpretations, including papers given by indigenous scholars.
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Abstract The work and results of an exploratory expedition to a series of rock painting sites in the Heilongjiang Province of NE China are reported. All rock art surveyed occurs as paintings and is considered to be relatively recent.... more
Abstract The work and results of an exploratory expedition to a series of rock painting sites in the Heilongjiang Province of NE China are reported. All rock art surveyed occurs as paintings and is considered to be relatively recent. Preliminary age estimates were secured from four of the sites. In two instances, the ages were delimited by the antiquities of their support surfaces. In the two others, four re-precipitated carbonate samples were subjected to uranium-series analyses. The results are discussed in the light of the current debate concerning the need to check U–Th dates obtained from carbonate crusts against the findings of other methods.
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Research Interests: Cultural History, Archaeology, Geology, Cultural Heritage, Material Culture Studies, and 15 moreLandscape Archaeology, Archaeological Science, Mesolithic Archaeology, Culture Studies, Neolithic Archaeology, Archaeometry, Cultural Heritage Management, Late Bronze Age archaeology, Chronology, Indian History, Neolithic of the Balkans, Cathodoluminescence, Luminescence, Luminescence Materials and Their Characterisation, and Historical Studies
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This paper describes a newly observed phenomenon, a rare form of lamina protecting petroglyphs from weathering, and it attempts an explanation of such features. These laminae are not precipitates but represent the floors of the original... more
This paper describes a newly observed phenomenon, a rare form of lamina protecting petroglyphs from weathering, and it attempts an explanation of such features. These laminae are not precipitates but represent the floors of the original cupules that have become more resistant to erosion through conversion to tectonite. The process involves crystallization of the syntaxial quartz overgrowths on quartz grains that constitute the cement component of quartzite and silica-rich schist. It is attributed to the cumulative application of kinetic energy that derives from the tens of thousands of hammerstone blows that produced the cupule. The tribological process results in products similar to those formed in ductile shear zones when sandstone has been subjected to great kinetic stresses. In the cupules reported here, the re-metamorphosed lamina preserves their original surface and prevents the erosion of the protolith (parent rock) concealed by the modified layer. The thickness of the layer ...
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Review(s) of: An Analysis of Ice Age Art. Its Psychology and Belief System, by Noel W. Smith, New York: Peter Lang (1992), 242 pages, ISBN 082041557X (hardback). Price SwFr62.00.
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To cite this article: Bednarik, Robert G. Murujuga Rock Art at AAA 2008 [online]. Rock Art Research: The Journal of the Australian Rock Art Research Association (AURA), Vol. 26, No. 1, 2009: 116. Availability:< http://search. informit.... more
To cite this article: Bednarik, Robert G. Murujuga Rock Art at AAA 2008 [online]. Rock Art Research: The Journal of the Australian Rock Art Research Association (AURA), Vol. 26, No. 1, 2009: 116. Availability:< http://search. informit. com. au/documentSummary; dn= ...
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The competence of humans to create and apply constructs of reality far exceeds that of any other animal species. Their ability to consciously manipulate such models seems unique, but it remains unknown how these abilities were initially... more
The competence of humans to create and apply constructs of reality far exceeds that of any other animal species. Their ability to consciously manipulate such models seems unique, but it remains unknown how these abilities were initially acquired and then developed. Most individuals hold strong, culturally-anchored beliefs that their particular reality is true, a viewpoint challenged by the observation that all such constructs are different. They reflect not reality, but each individual’s life experiences. Collectively they facilitated the development of hominins to unprecedented cultural and cognitive complexity. However, it remains entirely unknown how the human brain manages to create a model of the external world from the signals provided by sensory equipment and proprioceptors. This paper examines the roles of exograms in this development, as they are considered to be the only tangible connection between the brain, the faculties of sentience and the external world. Competency in exogram use became a crucial natural selection factor for humans and even overcame the human brain atrophy of the final Pleistocene and the Holocene. Under favourable conditions, some forms of exograms are capable of surviving from the deep time of human evolution. The paper follows their trail back in time to gain some insights into the developments that gave rise to human awareness, self-consciousness and Theory of Mind as we understand them. Specific archaeological finds and notions about sentient capabilities of hominins are presented in a search for exogram use in the course of human evolution. It results in a model that explains with clarity not only the course of the human journey but also the underlying reasons for the human condition as such: why we are the way we are.
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Domestication is a process of protecting a particular set of individuals from some influences of their natural environment and managing their reproduction to suit particular needs of a domesticator. Biological characteristics of modern... more
Domestication is a process of protecting a particular set of individuals from some influences of their natural environment and managing their reproduction to suit particular needs of a domesticator. Biological characteristics of modern humans are a result of the process of auto-domestication that is continuing. Thus, they include disadvantages occurring in domesticated species: poor ability to cope with the external environment, reduced central nervous system plagued by mental abnormalities, gastrointestinal and metabolic deficiencies including reduced dentition, and musculoskeletal limitations. Since the process of autodomestication is continuing, these disadvantages will increase in future generations. At this stage of our bio-cultural evolution, we are being confronted by a pandemic of mental disorders which we are ill-equipped to address. This paper briefly discusses reasons why modern humans are more susceptible to mental disorders due to auto-domestication.
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The extreme antiquity of manuports demonstrated here implies that they cannot provide evidence of a modern behavioural trait, and we contend that their possible presence at the Ga-Mohana Hill, or any other Middle Stone Age site, does not... more
The extreme antiquity of manuports demonstrated here
implies that they cannot provide evidence of a modern behavioural
trait, and we contend that their possible presence at
the Ga-Mohana Hill, or any other Middle Stone Age site, does
not constitute an innovation unique to Homo sapiens. The
cultural and cognitive roots of manuporting behaviour – and
the possible origin of symbolism inferred from it – are, to us,
much deeper than this.
implies that they cannot provide evidence of a modern behavioural
trait, and we contend that their possible presence at
the Ga-Mohana Hill, or any other Middle Stone Age site, does
not constitute an innovation unique to Homo sapiens. The
cultural and cognitive roots of manuporting behaviour – and
the possible origin of symbolism inferred from it – are, to us,
much deeper than this.
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El propósito del registro de las quilcas o arte rupestre es crear una memoria visual de los aspectos de esta evidencia que se consideran "importantes", y una base de datos para su conservación y gestión. La principal difi cultad al... more
El propósito del registro de las quilcas o arte
rupestre es crear una memoria visual de los aspectos
de esta evidencia que se consideran "importantes", y
una base de datos para su conservación y gestión. La
principal difi cultad al abordar el tema del registro es
que, independientemente de lo pueda sustentar aquí, es
probable que muchas cosas queden obsoletas dentro de
muy poco tiempo. No cabe duda de que los extraordinarios
avances que hemos presenciado en los últimos años en
el manejo de datos electrónicos tendrán una enorme
infl uencia en todos los aspectos de este tema. De hecho,
parece casi evidente que gran parte del futuro del registro
rupestre yace en el procesamiento digital de imágenes,
un campo que se desarrolla con tanta rapidez que los
programas informáticos del año pasado ya han sido
superados este año. El campo tecnológico, impulsado por
sus increíbles benefi cios económicos, avanza gracias al
entusiasmo corporativo.
rupestre es crear una memoria visual de los aspectos
de esta evidencia que se consideran "importantes", y
una base de datos para su conservación y gestión. La
principal difi cultad al abordar el tema del registro es
que, independientemente de lo pueda sustentar aquí, es
probable que muchas cosas queden obsoletas dentro de
muy poco tiempo. No cabe duda de que los extraordinarios
avances que hemos presenciado en los últimos años en
el manejo de datos electrónicos tendrán una enorme
infl uencia en todos los aspectos de este tema. De hecho,
parece casi evidente que gran parte del futuro del registro
rupestre yace en el procesamiento digital de imágenes,
un campo que se desarrolla con tanta rapidez que los
programas informáticos del año pasado ya han sido
superados este año. El campo tecnológico, impulsado por
sus increíbles benefi cios económicos, avanza gracias al
entusiasmo corporativo.
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Domestication is a process of protecting a particular set of individuals from some influences of their natural environment and managing their reproduction to suit particular needs of a domesticator. Biological characteristics of modern... more
Domestication is a process of protecting a particular set of individuals from some influences of their natural environment and managing their reproduction to suit particular needs of a domesticator. Biological characteristics of modern humans are a result of the process of auto-domestication that is continuing. Thus, they include disadvantages occurring in domesticated species: poor ability to cope with the external environment, reduced central nervous system plagued by mental abnormalities, gastrointestinal and metabolic deficiencies including reduced dentition, and musculoskeletal limitations. Since the process of autodomestication is continuing, these disadvantages will increase in future generations. At this stage of our bio-cultural evolution, we are being confronted by a pandemic of mental disorders which we are ill-equipped to address. This paper briefly discusses reasons why modern humans are more susceptible to mental disorders due to auto-domestication.
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The proposed sensational Middle Pleistocene dating of the hand and footprints found at the Qiusang site in Tibet has involved a method that numerous authors have considered unsuitable for poorly crystallised reprecipitated carbonate... more
The proposed sensational Middle Pleistocene dating of the hand and footprints found at the Qiusang site in Tibet has involved a method that numerous authors have considered unsuitable for poorly crystallised reprecipitated carbonate deposits. This is an open-air site, and precipitation should be expected to severely affect its travertine's U-Th ratio, especially by removing uranium. Such an open system inevitably results in age estimates that are significantly greater than the precipitate's actual age. There is no evidence that hominins occupied the central Tibetan Plateau at the time proposed, and none of modern humans in Eurasia, yet the footprints are of Moderns. Recent U-Th analysis applications in China have shown that results from speleothems and similar deposits can be as much as a hundred times or so too high. They have also confirmed that multiple samples from the same deposit may provide vastly different age estimates.
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A week-long expedition of attempting microerosion dating of petroglyphs was conducted in Garze Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, and Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, in western China in August 2019.... more
A week-long expedition of attempting microerosion dating of petroglyphs was conducted in Garze Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, and Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, in western China in August 2019. Zoomorphic petroglyphs dominate the extensive rock art of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. A total of twelve petroglyph sites were recorded in this survey and empirical data were secured from them. This endeavour provides the first scientific rock art direct-dating result in Yushu and demonstrates the Early Metal Age of some petroglyphs in the Yushu area.
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A review of the history of uranium-series dating of fossil bone and calcite skins related to rock paintings reveals significant limitations to the credibility of many such results. The 'closed system' conditions required do not seem to... more
A review of the history of uranium-series dating of fossil bone and calcite skins related to rock paintings reveals significant limitations to the credibility of many such results. The 'closed system' conditions required do not seem to apply to many ancient faunal remains and may be lacking in many cases also in the types of speleothems frequently used to secure minimum or maximum ages for cave paintings or petroglyphs. The studies comparing 14 C dates with U-Th results from such reprecipitated carbonates, particularly of the Pleistocene, suggest that the latter tend to be much higher. Recent testing of the method implies that the taphonomy of most such deposits is far too complex to allow the determination of age-governed 230 Th/ 234 U ratios. The U concentrations in coeval calcite skins vary significantly on a millimetre scale, and in some cases, apparent ages can be hundreds of times greater than actual ages. Tests also reveal that results obtained by different laboratories from the same samples differ greatly. The lack of reproducibility and testability of such results, combined with the interventional method of obtaining samples, excludes it from sustainable approaches to rock art dating.
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The recent discovery of the first authentic Pleistocene rock art in central Europe is reported in one of the classical Palaeolithic cave sites investigated for centuries. The Drachenhöhle in Austria has yielded extensive evidence of human... more
The recent discovery of the first authentic Pleistocene rock art in central Europe is reported in one of the classical Palaeolithic cave sites investigated for centuries. The Drachenhöhle in Austria has yielded extensive evidence of human habitation in the Würm I/II Interstadial 325 m from its entrance, in total darkness. The cave art occurs a few metres from that site and was produced by a child or children, most probably 39±5 ka ago. It can safely be attributed to people of Olschewian or Alpine Palaeolithic tool traditions, which seem to be by Neanderthaloid and intermediate Homo sapiens hominins. These appear to have harvested hibernating cave bears in their lairs. The Drachenhöhle is the largest such hibernation den known in the Alps, having contained the remains of an estimated 30 000 cave bears.
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The principal findings of a project begun in 2001, of introducing scientific methodology into the study of the rock art of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, are briefly summarised in this paper. They include the first scientific and direct... more
The principal findings of a project begun in 2001, of introducing scientific methodology into the study of the rock art of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, are briefly summarised in this paper. They include the first scientific and direct rock art datings reported from the Middle East. The project, commenced by the Deputy Ministry of Antiquities and Museums, is continuing under the auspices of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage. It has led to the discovery of large rock art site complexes numbering tens of thousands of motifs, and to the successful nomination of major rock art properties to the UNESCO World Heritage List. More specifically, the work of this project has also resulted in a preliminary chronological sequence of Arabian Peninsula rock art, the basis of which is briefly presented in this review paper. All petroglyphs analysed so far in Saudi Arabia have been shown to be of the Holocene, with specimens dating from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) up to the ...
Research Interests: Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Historical Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, Landscape Archaeology, and 15 moreArchaeological Science, Cultural Tourism, Neolithic Archaeology, Archaeometry, Cultural Heritage Management, Archeologia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Archeologie, Archéologie, Dating, Archäologie, Landscape and Rock Art, Archeology, Geo Archeology, and Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry Journal
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Research Interests: Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Geology, Historical Archaeology, and 15 moreCultural Heritage, Landscape Archaeology, Cultural Politics, Prehistoric Art, Archeologia, Prehistory, Prehistoric Rock Art, Rock Art, Prehistoric Archeology, Archeologie, Archéologie, Rock art research, Archäologie, UNESCO world heritage, and Archeology
Research Interests: Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Geoarchaeology, Palaeolithic Archaeology, History of Archaeological Praxis, and 15 moreMedieval Archaeology, Archaeometry, Paleolithic Europe, Petroglyphs and Pictographs, History of Archeology, Archeologia, Prehistoric Rock Art, History of Archaeology, Rock Art, Prehistoric Archeology, Archeologie, Archéologie, Geoarchaeology and Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions, Petroglyphs, and Archeology
South Australia is the cave art-richest state of Australia. So far, two concentrations of rock art occurring in limestone caves have been recorded, one on the Nullarbor Plain in the state’s west, the other on the Mt Gambier karst in the... more
South Australia is the cave art-richest state of Australia. So far, two concentrations of rock art occurring in limestone caves have been recorded, one on the Nullarbor Plain in the state’s west, the other on the Mt Gambier karst in the far south-east. Both cave art regions extend into the two adjoining states, Western Australia and Victoria. The Mt Gambier corpus represents one of the two largest concentrations of cave art known in the world. The history of the discovery of South Australian cave art is presented, together with a brief evaluation of the research so far conducted and of its results. The term ‘parietal art’ has been queried with me several times and it seems appropriate to begin this essay by qualifying it. The word ‘parietal’ has several meanings pertaining to the wall of a cavity, but in the sense it is used in rock art research it refers to the pre-Historic, consciously modulated, human markings on the walls and ceilings of caves, particularly deep limestone caves....
Research Interests: Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Rock Art (Archaeology), Archaeological Method & Theory, Australian Indigenous Archaeology, and 13 morePrehistoric Art, Archeologia, Prehistory, Prehistoric Rock Art, Australian archaeology, Rock Art, Ice Age Cave Art, Prehistoric Archeology, Archeologie, Archéologie, Rock art research, Cave art, and Archeology
A number of natural processes are discussed that may result in phenomena archaeologists have found difficult to distinguish from cupules. In particular, erosion phenomena of several types are presented and their distinguishing... more
A number of natural processes are discussed that may result in phenomena archaeologists have found difficult to distinguish from cupules. In particular, erosion phenomena of several types are presented and their distinguishing characteristics are discussed in adequate detail to facilitate their identification in the field. Similarly, cupules on horizontal surfaces may resemble grinding hollows (mortars, querns, metates) and their discrimination is also discussed. The use of field microscopy is emphasised in discriminating cupules from natural or other artificial rock markings.
Research Interests: Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Rock Art (Archaeology), Archaeological Method & Theory, Andean Prehistory (Archaeology), and 10 morePrehistoric Europe (Archaeology), Prehistoric Art, European Prehistory (Archaeology), Prehistory, Prehistoric Rock Art, Rock Art, Prehistoric Archeology, Rock art research, Cupules, and Rock Art Study
Cupules have been subjected to interpretation attempts for as long as they have been investigated, and thousands of such attempts have been recorded over the past two centuries. Most of them were presented without any credible supporting... more
Cupules have been subjected to interpretation attempts for as long as they have been investigated, and thousands of such attempts have been recorded over the past two centuries. Most of them were presented without any credible supporting evidence and are essentially ethnocentric constructs arrived at by unsophisticated contemplation. They are devoid of any cultural or taphonomic considerations, knowledge of antiquity or technological appreciation, and they are not susceptible to refutation attempts; hence they are not scientifically relevant. Only a minute number of sound ethnographic interpretations are available, and they are always site-specific or culture-specific; therefore no form of generic explanation for cupules can be offered. Such form of interpretation can only be attempted after a massive improvement in the currently very inadequate database we posses of cupules, much of which is distorted by futile interpretation endeavours.
Jan Fridrich has always been interested in, and open-minded about, novel phenomena and interpretations of the distant human past (e.g. 1982; 1989; 1997; 2005; see also Fridrich – Smolíková 1973; 1976; Fridrich – Sýkorová 2005). From an... more
Jan Fridrich has always been interested in, and open-minded about, novel phenomena and interpretations of the distant human past (e.g. 1982; 1989; 1997; 2005; see also Fridrich – Smolíková 1973; 1976; Fridrich – Sýkorová 2005). From an international perspective, one of his most consequential findings was his pronouncement about the Acheulian use of red ochre at Bečov (Fridrich 1976). The importance of this contribution remains under-appreciated, even over three decades later when it should have become obvious that we now have significant evidence of Lower Palaeolithic pigment use from various parts of the world (Bednarik 1990; 1992; 1994). Fridrich’s work at the Bečov sites continued for many years, and he still presented new data on them in the last phase of his life (Fridrich – Sýkorová 2006). Having addressed these aspects of hominin history on various occasions, the author would like to broach here another, most fascinating facet of the non-utilitarian behaviour patterns of earl...
Research Interests: Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Paleontology, Palaeolithic Archaeology, Paleolithic Europe, and 15 morePrehistoric Art, Palaeontology, Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition, Archeologia, Prehistory, Middle Palaeolithic, Palaeolithic, Paleolithic, Middle Paleolithic, Prehistoric Archeology, Paleolithic Art, Paleolithic Archaeology, Archéologie, Middle to Upper Palaeolithic Transition, and Archeology
Cupules may seem simple features requiring little technological explanation, until one examines them in their wider context or in scientific detail. The technology of cupule making is considered in an introductory format, leading to a... more
Cupules may seem simple features requiring little technological explanation, until one examines them in their wider context or in scientific detail. The technology of cupule making is considered in an introductory format, leading to a reassessment of the ideas researchers have formed about their significance. Parameters for replication experiments in making cupules are proposed, based on work already undertaken in recent years. The acute need for empirical recording data is identified, leading to a listing of the elements of a scientific system of quantifying cupules in the course of field surveys.
Research Interests: Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Rock Art (Archaeology), Archaeological Method & Theory, and 13 moreReligion and ritual in prehistory, Andean Prehistory (Archaeology), Prehistoric Technology, Prehistoric Europe (Archaeology), Prehistoric Art, European Prehistory (Archaeology), Prehistory, Prehistoric Rock Art, Rock Art, Prehistoric Archeology, Rock art research, Cupules, and Rock Art Study
This volume contains the following articles, research reports, and obituaries: "Editor's Preface" by Monica Barnes; Lynda Elliot Spickard, July 14, 1944 - August 10, 1999" by Robin M. Brown; "The Nanchoc Lithic Tradition of Northern Peru:... more
This volume contains the following articles, research reports, and obituaries: "Editor's Preface" by Monica Barnes; Lynda Elliot Spickard, July 14, 1944 - August 10, 1999" by Robin M. Brown; "The Nanchoc Lithic Tradition of Northern Peru: Microscopic Use-Wear Analysis" by Tom D. Dillehay and Jack Rossen; "Archaeological Investigations at the Initial Period Center of Huaca El Gallo/Huaca La Gallina, Viru Valley, Peru: the 1994 Field Season" by Thomas A. Zoubek; "Bodiless Human Heads in Paracas Necropolis Textile Iconography" by Anne Paul; "The Miraflores El Nino Disaster: Convergent Catastrophes and Prehistoric Agrarian Change in Southern Peru" by Dennis R. Satterlee, Michael E. Moseley, David K. Keefer, and Jorge E. Tapia A.; "The Jeli Phase Complex at La Emerenciana, a Late Valdivia Site in Southern El Oro Province, Ecuador by John Edward Staller; "Defining Ceramic Change and Cultural Interaction: Results of Typological, Chronological, and Technological Analyses of Guangala Phase Ceramics" by Maria Masucci; "The Many Facets of Mullu: More Than just a Spondylus Shell" by David Blower; "Inca Estates and the Encomienda: Hernando Pizarro's Holdings in Cusco" by Catherine Julien; "Age Estimates for the Petroglyph Sequence of Inca Huasi, Mizque, Bolivia" by Robert G. Bednarik; "The Puzolana Obsidian Source: Locating the Geologic Source of Ayacucho Type Obsidian" by Richard L. Burger and Michael D. Glascock; "The Northeast Conference on Andean Archaeology and Ethnohistory: The First Eighteen Years" by Richard E. Daggett; "The Origins and the First 25 years (1973-1997) of the Midwestern Conference on Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory" by David L. Browman; "Pimampiro Project" by Tamara L. Bray; "Hacienda La Florida, Ayalan Cemetery, Anllulla Shell Midden Mound, and Ferdon's Surface Collection" by Earl H. Lubensky; "Pichincha Province" by Ronald D. Lippi; "Batan Grande, Lambayeque Valley" by Izumi Shimada and Julie Farnum; "Zana-Niepos Project" by Jack Rossen; "Beach Ridges, Santa Valley" by Dan Sandweiss, Daniel F. Belknap, Stacy H. Schafer Rogers, and Jeffrey N. Rogers; "Villa Salvador and Huaca Pucllana, Lima" by Kate Pechenkina; "Manchay Bajo, Lurin Valley" by Richard Burger and Lucy Salazar Burger; "La Paloma, Chilca Valley" by Bob Benfer; "Antibal, Chilca Valley" by Bob Benfer, Neil Duncan, Kate Pechenkina, and Bernardino Ojeda; "Asia Site" by Kate Pechenkina, Julie Farnum, Joe Vrandenburg, and Bob Bener; "Nazca Drainage" by Donald A. Proulx, Ana Nieves, Henry Falcon Amado, and Miriam Gavilan Roayza; "California Institute of Peruvian Studies on the South Coast" by Francis A. Riddell, Richard Brooks, Anna Noah, Alina Aparicio, Sheilagh Brooks, Sandra Asmussen, J. Arthur Freed, Marie Cottrell, Lidio Valdez, William Fowlks, Zasha Trivisonno, Frances Durocher, John Schaller, Nathan Parker, Dwight Wallace, Julio Manrique, Grace Katterman, Oscar Bendezu, Catherine Julien, Margaret Enrile, and Juan Segura; "Chivay, Colca Valley" by Dan Sandweiss, Hal Borns, and Bernardino Ojeda; "Quebrada Jaguay" by Dan Sandweiss, Roland Paredes, Bernardino Ojeda, Maria del Carmen Sandweiss, Heather McInnis, Trevor Ott, Osvaldo Chozo, Miguel Cabrera, Arturo Santos, Ted McClure, Ben Tanner, Fred Andrus, Oswaldo Chozo, Julissa Ugarte, Dave Sanger, Dolores Piperno, Elizabeth Reitz, Howard Melville, and Bruce Smith; "Dental Research" by Rick Sutter; "Taraco Project" by Christine Hastorf, Matt Bandy, Lee Stedman, Kate Moore, William Whitehead, Jose Luis Paz, Melissa Goodman, Ian Hodder, Donald Johnson, John Southon, Susan D. de France, David W. Steadman, Kate Moore, Deborah Blom, Sonia Alconini, Sigrid Arnott, Emily Dean, David Kojan, Rene Ayon, Franz Choque, and Mario Montano Aragon.
Research Interests:
1 - The human Condition. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Robert G. Bednarik. 2011. Foreword by Dean Falk. 210p. New York, Springer. 2 - Creating the human Past: an Epistemology of Pleistocene Archaeology. Robert G.... more
1 - The human Condition. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Robert G. Bednarik. 2011. Foreword by Dean Falk. 210p. New York, Springer.
2 - Creating the human Past: an Epistemology of Pleistocene Archaeology. Robert G. Bednarik. 2013. 187p. Oxford, Archaeopress.
2 - Creating the human Past: an Epistemology of Pleistocene Archaeology. Robert G. Bednarik. 2013. 187p. Oxford, Archaeopress.