Hi all, long time no see...Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I was wondering if any of you have any insights in cavepaintings, why they were painted etc? Did they really paint them for good huntingluck and to please the spirits? What are the evidence for that? Couldn't they just have painted them as artists do today, because they wanted to create as a reason in itself? Or simple documentation of a past event. I mean, how can anybody claim to know for sure and why even attempt that? I'm reading about this and this nonsensical author ( Walter Benjamin) is more concerened with swirling words than proposing any new ideas or arguments.
I don't have the expertise to answer most of your questions but the the two in the last line provoke me, as a scientist, to respond. Nobody can claim to know for sure, but that does not make it a pointless exercise to try, any more than with any other phenomenon of scientific study. As to why one should make the attempt, it is normal scientific curiosity to to seek explanations. To have no curiosity as to why something is as it is the sign of an unenquiring mind, which is fairly close to a stupid mind, is it not?
My point was that it is stupid to claim to know for sure, and that any respectable scientist or researcher should refrain from that, especially when it comes to such a vague subject as the reasons behind cavepaintings. Guesses and attempts are wanted, but they should always point out that that is what they are.
Well not guesses, as these would have no value, but hypotheses based on researched evidence would have value. Most properly written science papers will make clear, at least qualitatively, the degree of confidence or uncertainty that the writer feels applies to his or her conclusions.
No one really knows: Who the artist were Why they painted what they painted How many artists were involved The absolute timespan for the creations Whether the act of creation was an individual or group effort/activity Many have guessed, and some have stated their guesses as fact. It would be nice to know the answers, but Does it really matter nearly as much as the fact that they were created; which tells us something of our ancestors.
I'm reading this in Swedish. "Älgen som stenåldersmänniskan avbildar på väggarna i sin grotta är ett magiskt verktyg som man bara i undantagsfall visar sina medmänniskor. Det är på sin höjd viktigt att andarna ser den." My translation: ”The moose that the stoneageman paints on the walls in his cave is a magical tool that is only rarely shown to his fellows. It is, at most, important that the spirits sees it. ” Does anybody know where this assumption comes from?
Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! He ought to register for SciForums. He'd feel right at home. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Well, this is a media and communicationscience course and Walter Benjamin ( the madman) used this assumption as a basis for a whole lot of following theories ( which all involves further magical thinking and speculations) which imo makes them all not entire faulty perhaps but they completely lost their scientific value. It's entertaining reading though. The question is why did he undermine his own credibility that blatantly to begin with? He must have known , or? Or did they publish his ramblings just to be able to make fun of him? It's a mystery. We still live in a caveman society.
