Mark D Bishop

Broschiertes Buch

Stone Age Handaxes

Art & Ritual

Beschreibung

All is not always what is seems. History, as it has been presented for centuries, is riddled with stereotypes and fixed agenda, more so when it concerns prehistory and the 'Stone Age'. As the veils of obliviousness have been researched away though, four distinct species of humans, or hominins (the genus Homo), have so far been identified as once probably having inhabited the islands of what is now call Britain. The most ancient of these is known as Homo Erectus (or sometimes Homo Antecessor). These were a hominin group who were later followed by a species called Homo Heidelbergensis, who in turn came before Homo Neaderthalensis (known commonly as Neanderthals), all before we, Homo Sapiens, came along and took up residence. There are many indications that Homo Sapiens have been living on British shores, on and off, for at least 40,000 years, a time that clashes with the demise and 'extinction' of our Neanderthal cousins in Europe, whose DNA we carry within us to this day. Stone Age ancestors of ours, these four groups of people might or might not have been but, technologically speaking, common to them all, there is much hard evidence to show that ornate handaxes, portable rock art, tools, wooden structures and handicrafts of different types were made and used by individuals and groups for differing reasons. This work details the art and ritual concerning their handaxes in the broadest sense.

Autor

This, the third and most involved work by the author on the growing research into Stone Age portable rock art, is a must read for all interested parties. Beginning with handaxes crafted by the earliest inhabitants of the British Isles, one million years ago, it details that they carved, pecked and knapped these artefacts as art. Handaxes of all types, shapes and forms were not so much meant for use as weapons, but more as tools and ceremonial objects, having dual ritualistic and practical functions. Passed down as ancestral heirlooms, they became enthused with 'mana' and were often placed as offerings in streams, or at tomb and grave sites, or by sacred groves. Until now, the designs seen of these artefacts have not generally been recognised as art. The main theme of this work therefore is to introduce these artforms in detail to the world of archaeology and the public alike. Intangible, ritualistic meanings they once held, yet tangible stone art they remain, preserved as monuments to the skill and cognitive abilities of our most distant ancestors.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Lulu Press
• Seitenzahl: 140
• Erscheinungstermin: 23. September 2024
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 234mm x 156mm x 8mm
• Gewicht: 225g
• ISBN-13: 9781445256078
• ISBN-10: 144525607X
• Artikelnr.: 72011499