Inside the Neolithic Mind: Consciousness, Cosmos, and the Realm of the Gods

Inside the Neolithic Mind: Consciousness, Cosmos, and the Realm of the Gods
Author :
Publisher : Thames & Hudson
Total Pages : 320
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780500770450
ISBN-13 : 050077045X
Rating : 4/5 (45X Downloads)

Book Synopsis Inside the Neolithic Mind: Consciousness, Cosmos, and the Realm of the Gods by : David Lewis-Williams

Download or read book Inside the Neolithic Mind: Consciousness, Cosmos, and the Realm of the Gods written by David Lewis-Williams and published by Thames & Hudson. This book was released on 2005-10-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exploration of how brain structure and cultural content interacted in the Neolithic period 10,000 years ago to produce unique life patterns and belief systems. What do the headless figures found in the famous paintings at Catalhoyuk in Turkey have in common with the monumental tombs at Newgrange and Knowth in Ireland? How can the concepts of "birth," "death," and "wild" cast light on the archaeological enigma of the domestication of cattle? What generated the revolutionary social change that ended the Upper Palaeolithic? David Lewis-Williams's previous book, The Mind in the Cave, dealt with the remarkable Upper Palaeolithic paintings, carvings, and engravings of western Europe. Here Dr. Lewis-Williams and David Pearce examine the intricate web of belief, myth, and society in the succeeding Neolithic period, arguably the most significant turning point in all human history, when agriculture became a way of life and the fractious society that we know today was born. The authors focus on two contrasting times and places: the beginnings in the Near East, with its mud-brick and stone houses each piled on top of the ruins of another, and western Europe, with its massive stone monuments more ancient than the Egyptian pyramids. They argue that neurological patterns hardwired into the brain help explain the art and society that Neolithic people produced. Drawing on the latest research, the authors skillfully link material on human consciousness, imagery, and religious concepts to propose provocative new theories about the causes of an ancient revolution in cosmology and the origins of social complexity. In doing so they create a fascinating neurological bridge to the mysterious thought-lives of the past and reveal the essence of a momentous period in human history. 100 illustrations, 20 in color.


Inside the Neolithic Mind: Consciousness, Cosmos, and the Realm of the Gods Related Books

Inside the Neolithic Mind: Consciousness, Cosmos, and the Realm of the Gods
Language: en
Pages: 320
Authors: David Lewis-Williams
Categories: Social Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2005-10-01 - Publisher: Thames & Hudson

GET EBOOK

An exploration of how brain structure and cultural content interacted in the Neolithic period 10,000 years ago to produce unique life patterns and belief system
Inside the Neolithic Mind
Language: en
Pages: 0
Authors: J. David Lewis-Williams
Categories: Antiquities, Prehistoric
Type: BOOK - Published: 2005 - Publisher:

GET EBOOK

The Mind in the Cave
Language: en
Pages: 350
Authors: David Lewis-Williams
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2011-07-01 - Publisher: Thames & Hudson

GET EBOOK

The art created in the caves of western Europe in the Ice Age provokes awe and wonder. What do these symbols on the walls of Lascaux and Altamira, tell us about
Conceiving God
Language: en
Pages: 330
Authors: David Lewis-Williams
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 2011-07-01 - Publisher: Thames & Hudson

GET EBOOK

At once polemical, insightful and thought-provoking, Conceiving God is essential reading for all those interested in the origins of religious thought, and the r
Conceiving God: The Cognitive Origin and Evolution of Religion
Language: en
Pages: 320
Authors: David Lewis-Williams
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 2010-03-01 - Publisher: Thames & Hudson

GET EBOOK

A controversial exploration of the origin of religion in the neurology of the human brain. In this book the noted cognitive archaeologist David Lewis-Williams c