A Cosmos in Stone: Interpreting Religion and Society Through Rock Art
Author(s): David J. Lewis-Williams (Author)
Publisher: AltaMira Press
Publication Date: 16 April 2002
Language: English
Print length: 336 pages
ISBN-10: 0759101957
ISBN-13: 9780759101951
Book Description
J. David Lewis-Williams is world renowned for his work on the rock art of Southern Africa. In this volume, Lewis-Williams describes the key steps in his evolving journey to understand these images painted on stone. He describes the development of technical methods of interpreting rock paintings of the 1970s, shows how a growing understanding of San mythology, cosmology, and ethnography helped decode the complex paintings, and traces the development of neuropsychological models for understanding the relationship between belief systems and rock art. The author then applies his theories to the famous rock paintings of prehistoric Western Europe in an attempt to develop a comprehensive theory of rock art. For students of rock art, archaeology, ethnography, comparative religion, and art history, Lewis-Williams’ book will be a provocative read and an important reference.
Editorial Reviews
Review
The ideas of David Lewis-Williams, director of the Rock Art Research Institute at the University of Witwatersrand, have had a profound impact on rock art studies in southern Africa, and more recently, on the interpretation of Upper Paleolithic art…The book brings together the development of Lewis-Williams’s thoughts about rock art, published between 1972-1997…A Cosmos in Stone is a valuable source for students of rock art… — Lawrence H. Robbins, Michigan State University ― American Antiquity, Vol. 69, No. 1, 2004
Individuals with an interest in the extensive rock art found on the Northwest Coast should consider A Cosmos in Stone indispensable. — Amanda Adams ―
The Midden
This volume is a compilation of David Lewis-Williams’ seminal papers. Though his data are primarily the rock art of the San (bushmen) of southern Africa and the cave art of the European Paleolithic, this book equally is about archaeological method and especially theory. Even more, it represents an intellectual achievement of the greatest historical importance. In these papers Lewis-Williams bridges the longest-lived divide in our western intellectual tradition, the opposition between science, religion and art, showing how science is necessary to understand art and religion, and how any apprehension of human social life likewise must foreground the importance of religion and art. — David S. Whitley, author, The Art of the Shaman; editor, Archaeology of Religion series
About the Author
J. David Lewis-Williams is Director of the Rock Art Research Institute at University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, and is known internationally for his studies of South African rock art.
Wow! eBook
