Neurofilosofía y Pensamiento Actual Neurophilosophy and Contemporary Thought

viernes, 7 de agosto de 2026

The Human Journey: From the Makapansgat Pebble to the Far Reaches of the Cosmos

Bernabé Mallo

Doctor en Filosofía por la Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU)
Investigador en neurofilosofía, evolución humana y origen del arte. / PhD in Philosophy – University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)
Researcher in neurophilosophy, human evolution, and the origins of art.

A reflection on the origin of art and the continuity of the species through the lens of Clottes, Menninghaus, and Henshilwood

Introduction: a simple and complex question

What connects an australopithecine who collected a pebble shaped like a face, a Palaeolithic artist who ventured into the depths of a cave to paint a bison, an Egyptian educator who protected young people with amulets and teachings, and a contemporary astronaut who gazes at Earth from space? The answer, perhaps, is simpler than it seems: they are all children of the same species, bearers of the same symbolic heritage, driven by the same urge toward survival, meaning, and wholeness.

Let us begin with a lived experience. The Guaraní peoples of Paraguay, like so many other indigenous cultures, demonstrate an extraordinary knowledge of their natural environment and its possibilities for survival. They know the plants, the animals, the cycles, the dangers. They know how to move, how to protect themselves, how to obtain resources. This knowledge is not an exception: it is the norm in every human culture that has depended directly on its environment. The educational systems of ancient Egypt, for their part, show us another aspect of this same capacity: childhood was protected through advanced teachings and amulets that safeguarded children from environmental threats . Survival was not only physical, but also symbolic.

If knowledge of the environment generates confidence, and confidence drives exploration, then the history of our species is the history of a continuous expansion. We know our environment, we feel safe, and we venture to investigate other lands, other cultures, other worlds. Thus it was in the past, and thus it continues today. The question we pose is, therefore, a question about the continuity of the human: what happened that led an australopithecine to carry a stone like the Makapansgat pebble to its home? What happened that led the artists of Altamira or Lascaux to paint animals in difficult-to-access areas, almost hidden? What happened that led the Egyptians to develop such advanced educational systems? And what is happening today with space travellers?

The enigma of Makapansgat: the first symbolic gesture

The Makapansgat pebble, a reddish jasper stone weighing about 260 grams, was found in 1925 in a cave in South Africa, several kilometres from its nearest natural source . Its natural marks and wear give it a striking resemblance to a human face. It was neither carved nor modified by human hands. It was collected and transported. Why?

The answer, though uncertain, is fascinating. Someone —an australopithecine, perhaps, or some other early hominin— saw in that stone something more than a stone. They saw a face. And they did not only see it: they valued it enough to carry it with them, to make it part of their home, to keep it in an inhabited space .

This seemingly trivial gesture is the earliest evidence of a capacity that defines us as a species: the capacity to recognise symbols, to see beyond immediate reality, to attribute meaning to objects that have no practical utility. The Makapansgat pebble was not used for cutting, striking, or protecting. It served to be looked at. And in looking at it, the one who found it saw themselves reflected in it.

The discoveries at Blombos Cave, with their engraved ochre pieces over 70,000 years old, confirm that this symbolic capacity was not an isolated accident . The abstract geometric patterns engraved on these pieces are not representations of animals or people. They are symbols: arbitrary conventions created to express shared concepts, whose meaning has been lost but whose symbolic intention is indisputable . As Christopher Henshilwood notes, "these finds demonstrate that ochre use in the MSA was not exclusively utilitarian and, arguably, the transmission and sharing of the meaning of the engravings relied on fully syntactical language" .

Cave art: why hide beauty?

If the Blombos engravings show us the capacity to create symbols, the paintings of Altamira and Lascaux show us the capacity to hide them. The animals represented in these caves are not at the entrances, nor in the illuminated areas. They are in the depths, in narrow galleries, in difficult-to-access places . Why?

Jean Clottes, in his article on the interpretation of prehistoric art, reviews the main theories that have attempted to answer this question . The theory of "art for art's sake", which saw in these works mere entertainment or ornamentation, was abandoned precisely because it could not explain why they were produced in such remote and dark places. The theory of sympathetic magic, which interpreted them as rituals to ensure hunting success, also failed to account for all the evidence: the animals represented were not always the most hunted, and wounded or pierced figures are surprisingly rare .

The most recent hypothesis, defended by Clottes together with David Lewis-Williams, is that of Palaeolithic shamanism . According to this interpretation, the deep caves were perceived as the realm of spirits, as gateways to the supernatural world. Entering them was therefore a form of shamanic journey, a search for contact with the forces that governed the world. The paintings and engravings would be the materialisation of the visions obtained during trance, and the natural reliefs of the walls —which could evoke animal forms— would be deliberately used to "free" the spirits from the rock .

This hypothesis offers an answer to the questions we posed. The animals represented were not the most consumed because they were not hunting objects, but auxiliary spirits: beings encountered by the shaman in their visions, whose power they sought to channel. The representation in difficult-to-access areas was not a whim, but a necessity: the journey to the underground world was a metaphor for the journey to the spirit world, and the difficulty of access was part of the ritual. The caves were not hiding places, but sanctuaries: places where the community could enter into contact with the sacred.

The restless traveller: from Altamira to outer space

If Palaeolithic art was a form of spiritual journey, our species has never ceased to travel. The hominins who collected the Makapansgat pebble, the artists who painted in the depths of the caves, the educators who protected the children of ancient Egypt, and the astronauts who today explore space share a common characteristic: dissatisfaction with the present, the need to go further, to explore, to know, to transcend.

This travelling drive is not a cultural accident. It is a consequence of our symbolic capacity, of our capacity to symbolise what is not present and to desire what does not yet exist. The space traveller is no different from the Palaeolithic hunter who ventured into a dark cave, nor the Polynesian navigator who crossed the Pacific in canoes, nor the explorer who mapped unknown continents. They are all bearers of the same heritage: the capacity to imagine a beyond and to act to reach it.

The technology that enables these journeys —from the Blombos bone tools to space rockets— is also a manifestation of the same symbolic capacity . The Blombos bone tools, about 70,000 years old, are not merely useful objects. They are products of a sequence of deliberate technical choices, requiring planning, knowledge, and transmission of skills . They are, in this sense, the Palaeolithic equivalent of a spacecraft: the result of a mind that thinks long-term, anticipates needs, and designs solutions for future problems.

Towards a synthesis: art as testimony to human continuity

Winfried Menninghaus, in his book Aesthetics after Darwin, proposes a "cooptation" model to explain the multiple origins of the human arts . According to this model, art emerged when three ancient and largely independent adaptations —sensory biases linked to sexual selection, play behaviour, and technology— came together and were transformed by human capacities for symbolic cognition and language . Art, from this perspective, is not a specific adaptation for a concrete function, but a new behavioural variant that emerged from the confluence of several evolutionary factors .

This model fits perfectly with the continuity we have traced from Makapansgat to space exploration. The capacity to recognise a face in a stone (sensory bias), the curiosity to explore the unknown (play behaviour), and the ability to make tools that allow us to reach further (technology) combined with symbolic capacity to create art, to travel, to educate, to transcend.

The question we posed at the beginning —what connects the australopithecine, the Palaeolithic artist, the Egyptian educator, and the astronaut— thus finds an answer: they are all manifestations of the same unique neuronal function, which we have called S/Y/C:

S (Survival): the need to know the environment, to protect oneself, to ensure the continuity of life. The Guaraní who knows the jungle, the Egyptian who protects their children, the astronaut who keeps their spacecraft functioning: they are all attending to survival.
Y (Symbolon): the capacity to create and share symbols, to attribute meaning to objects and actions. The australopithecine who sees a face in a stone, the artist who paints a bison in a cave, the Egyptian who makes an amulet, the astronaut who plants a flag on the Moon: they are all creating symbolon.
C (Wholeness): the drive toward totality, the need to close a cycle, to achieve a goal. The traveller who enters the cave, the explorer who crosses the ocean, the astronaut who reaches space: they are all seeking wholeness, the sensation of having arrived somewhere.

Final considerations: the species that never stops travelling

The history of our species is the history of a continuous journey. It began with a faltering step out of Africa, continued with the exploration of all continents, and today takes us to the far reaches of the solar system. But the journey is not only physical. It is also spiritual, symbolic, interior. Art, religion, philosophy, science, and technology are the different forms this journey has taken.

The Makapansgat pebble, the paintings of Altamira, the Blombos bone tools, the Egyptian amulets, and today's spacecraft are all milestones on the same path: the path of a species that is not satisfied with what it has, that always wants to go further, that never stops asking what lies on the other side.

And on this path, what we carry with us is always the same: our capacity to symbolise, to create meaning, to seek wholeness. That is what makes us human. And that is what, probably, will continue to accompany us as the journey continues.

References

Clottes, J. (2003). De « l'art pour l'art » au chamanisme : l'interprétation de l'art préhistorique. La revue pour l'histoire du CNRS, (8). https://doi.org/10.4000/histoire-cnrs.553

Henshilwood, C. S., d'Errico, F., Marean, C. W., Milo, R. G., & Yates, R. (2001). An early bone tool industry from the Middle Stone Age at Blombos Cave, South Africa: Implications for the origins of modern human behaviour, symbolism and language. Journal of Human Evolution, 41(6), 631–678. https://doi.org/10.1006/jhev.2001.0515

Henshilwood, C. S., d'Errico, F., Yates, R., Jacobs, Z., Tribolo, C., Duller, G. A. T., Mercier, N., Sealy, J. C., Valladas, H., Watts, I., & Wintle, A. G. (2002). Emergence of modern human behavior: Middle Stone Age engravings from South Africa. Science, 295(5558), 1278–1280. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1067575

Henshilwood, C. S., d'Errico, F., & Watts, I. (2009). Engraved ochres from the Middle Stone Age levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution, 57(1), 27–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.02.006

Mallo, B. (2023). La construcción neuro-simbólica. Una aproximación al funcionamiento del cerebro desde una perspectiva multidisciplinar [Doctoral thesis, University of the Basque Country - Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea]. ADDI Repository. http://hdl.handle.net/10810/62701

Mallo, B. (2025). Arte y biología: Una aproximación neurofilosófica al origen de la experiencia estética. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0E8Y5WZMK

Mallo, B. (2025). Art and biology: A neurophilosophical approach to the origin of aesthetic experience. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0E8Y6C2XN

Mallo, B. (2026a). De la filosofía quirúrgica a la ley de coherencia biológica S/Y/C: Hacia una investigación sobre el origen del arte en la especie Homo. https://isbn.bibna.gub.uy/catalogo.php?mode=detalle&nt=57196

Mallo, B. (2026a). De la filosofía quirúrgica a la ley de coherencia biológica S/Y/C: Hacia una investigación sobre el origen del arte en la especie Homo [Kindle edition]. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GYGTJD5C

Mallo, B. (2026b). From surgical philosophy to the law of biological coherence S/Y/C: Toward a study of the origin of art in the Homo lineage. https://isbn.bibna.gub.uy/catalogo.php?mode=detalle&nt=57197

Menninghaus, W. (2019). Aesthetics after Darwin: The multiple origins and functions of the arts (A. Berlina, Trans.). Academic Studies Press. (Original work published 2011)

Autor / Author

Bernabé Mallo
Doctor en Filosofía – Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU)
Investigador independiente en neurofilosofía, evolución humana y origen del arte.

Bernabé Mallo
PhD in Philosophy – University of the Basque Country / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU)
Independent researcher in neurophilosophy, human evolution, and the origin of art.

Enlaces / Links

Página de autor Amazon / Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/bernabemallo
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9002-9728
Plataforma EHUenRed / Link EHUenRed: https://www.ehu.eus/es/web/masterrak-eta-graduondokoak/red-latinoamericana-de-posgrados
Canal YouTube / Channel YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@neuroideas815
Canal YouTube / Channel YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBsf6OZ482NjST6QA-hvYtQ
Publicaciones y proyectos en desarrollo / Publications and projects:
https://www.amazon.com/author/bernabemallo
https://ehuenred.theglocal.network/ideas/el-origen-del-arte-en-el-cerebro-de-makapansgat-al-moma-del-primate-al-sapiens

El viaje humano: de la piedra de Makapansgat a los confines del cosmos

Bernabé Mallo

Una reflexión sobre el origen del arte y la continuidad de la especie a la luz de Clottes, Menninghaus y Henshilwood

Introducción: una pregunta simple y compleja

¿Qué une a un australopiteco que recolecta una piedra con forma de rostro, a un artista paleolítico que se adentra en las profundidades de una cueva para pintar un bisonte, a un educador del antiguo Egipto que protege a los jóvenes con amuletos y enseñanzas, y a un astronauta contemporáneo que contempla la Tierra desde el espacio? La respuesta, quizás, es más simple de lo que parece: todos ellos son hijos de una misma especie, portadores de una misma herencia simbólica, movidos por una misma pulsión hacia la supervivencia, el significado y la totalidad.

Partamos de una experiencia vivida. Los pueblos guaraníes del Paraguay, como tantas otras culturas indígenas, demuestran un conocimiento extraordinario de su entorno natural y de sus posibilidades de supervivencia. Conocen las plantas, los animales, los ciclos, los peligros. Saben cómo moverse, cómo protegerse, cómo obtener recursos. Este conocimiento no es una excepción: es la norma en toda cultura humana que ha dependido directamente de su entorno. Los sistemas educativos del antiguo Egipto, por su parte, nos muestran otro aspecto de esta misma capacidad: la infancia era protegida mediante enseñanzas avanzadas y amuletos que las resguardaban de las amenazas del entorno . La supervivencia no era solo física, sino también simbólica.

Si el conocimiento del entorno genera confianza, y la confianza impulsa la exploración, entonces la historia de nuestra especie es la historia de una expansión continua. Conocemos nuestro entorno, nos sentimos seguros, y nos aventuramos a investigar otras tierras, otras culturas, otros mundos. Así fue en el pasado, y así sigue siendo hoy. La pregunta que nos planteamos es, por tanto, una pregunta sobre la continuidad de lo humano: ¿qué ocurrió para que un australopiteco llevara una piedra como Makapansgat hasta su hogar? ¿Qué ocurrió para que los artistas de Altamira o Lascaux pintaran animales en zonas de difícil acceso, casi escondidos? ¿Qué ocurrió para que los egipcios desarrollaran sistemas educativos tan avanzados? ¿Y qué ocurre hoy con los viajeros del espacio?

El enigma de Makapansgat: el primer gesto simbólico

El guijarro de Makapansgat, una piedra de jaspe rojizo de unos 260 gramos, fue encontrado en 1925 en una cueva de Sudáfrica, a varios kilómetros de su fuente natural más cercana . Sus marcas y desgastes naturales le dan un sorprendente parecido a un rostro humano. No fue tallado ni modificado por mano humana. Fue recolectado y transportado. ¿Por qué?

La respuesta, aunque incierta, es fascinante. Alguien —un australopiteco, quizás, o algún otro homínido temprano— vio en esa piedra algo más que una piedra. Vio un rostro. Y no solo lo vio: lo valoró lo suficiente como para llevarlo consigo, para hacerlo parte de su hogar, para conservarlo en un espacio habitado.

Este gesto, aparentemente trivial, es la primera evidencia de una capacidad que nos define como especie: la capacidad de reconocer símbolos, de ver más allá de la realidad inmediata, de atribuir significado a objetos que no tienen utilidad práctica. La piedra de Makapansgat no servía para cortar, ni para golpear, ni para protegerse. Servía para mirar. Y al mirarla, quien la encontró se veía a sí mismo reflejado en ella.

Los descubrimientos de Blombos Cave, con sus ocre grabados de más de 70.000 años de antigüedad, confirman que esta capacidad simbólica no fue un accidente aislado . Los patrones geométricos abstractos grabados en esas piezas no son representaciones de animales o personas. Son símbolos: convenciones arbitrarias creadas para expresar conceptos compartidos, cuyo significado se ha perdido pero cuya intención simbólica es indiscutible . Como señala Christopher Henshilwood, "estos hallazgos demuestran que el uso del ocre en el Middle Stone Age no era exclusivamente utilitario y, posiblemente, la transmisión y el intercambio del significado de los grabados dependía de un lenguaje plenamente sintáctico" .

El arte de las cuevas: ¿por qué esconder la belleza?

Si los grabados de Blombos nos muestran la capacidad de crear símbolos, las pinturas de Altamira y Lascaux nos muestran la capacidad de esconderlos. Los animales representados en estas cuevas no están en las entradas, ni en las zonas iluminadas. Están en las profundidades, en galerías estrechas, en lugares de difícil acceso . ¿Por qué?

Jean Clottes, en su artículo sobre la interpretación del arte prehistórico, revisa las principales teorías que han intentado responder a esta pregunta. La teoría del "arte por el arte", que veía en estas obras un mero entretenimiento o adorno, fue abandonada precisamente porque no podía explicar por qué se realizaban en lugares tan remotos y oscuros. La teoría de la magia simpática, que las interpretaba como rituales para asegurar el éxito en la caza, tampoco lograba dar cuenta de todas las evidencias: los animales representados no eran siempre los más cazados, y las figuras heridas o acribilladas son sorprendentemente raras.

La hipótesis más reciente, defendida por Clottes junto a David Lewis-Williams, es la del chamanismo paleolítico. Según esta interpretación, las cuevas profundas eran percibidas como el reino de los espíritus, como puertas al mundo sobrenatural. Adentrarse en ellas era, por tanto, una forma de viaje chamánico, una búsqueda de contacto con las fuerzas que regían el mundo. Las pinturas y grabados serían la materialización de las visiones obtenidas durante el trance, y los relieves naturales de las paredes —que podían evocar formas animales— serían utilizados deliberadamente para "liberar" a los espíritus de la roca .

Esta hipótesis ofrece una respuesta a las preguntas que nos planteábamos. Los animales representados no eran los más consumidos porque no eran objetos de caza, sino espíritus auxiliares: seres con los que el chamán se encontraba en sus visiones, y cuyo poder buscaba canalizar. La representación en zonas de difícil acceso no era un capricho, sino una necesidad: el viaje al mundo subterráneo era una metáfora del viaje al mundo de los espíritus, y la dificultad del acceso formaba parte del ritual. Las cuevas no eran escondites, sino santuarios: lugares donde la comunidad podía entrar en contacto con lo sagrado.

El viajero incansable: de Altamira al espacio exterior

Si el arte paleolítico era una forma de viaje espiritual, nuestra especie nunca ha dejado de viajar. Los homínidos que recolectaron la piedra de Makapansgat, los artistas que pintaron en las profundidades de las cuevas, los educadores que protegieron a los niños del antiguo Egipto, y los astronautas que hoy exploran el espacio comparten una misma característica: la insatisfacción con el presente, la necesidad de ir más allá, de explorar, de conocer, de trascender.

Esta pulsión viajera no es un accidente cultural. Es una consecuencia de nuestra capacidad simbólica, de nuestra capacidad de simbolizar lo que no está presente y de desear lo que aún no existe. El viajero espacial no es diferente del cazador paleolítico que se adentraba en una cueva oscura, ni del navegante polinesio que cruzaba el Pacífico en canoas, ni del explorador que cartografiaba continentes desconocidos. Todos ellos son portadores de la misma herencia: la capacidad de imaginar un más allá y de actuar para alcanzarlo.

La tecnología que posibilita estos viajes —desde las herramientas de hueso de Blombos hasta los cohetes espaciales— es también una manifestación de la misma capacidad simbólica . Las herramientas de hueso de Blombos, de unos 70.000 años de antigüedad, no son solo objetos útiles. Son productos de una secuencia de elecciones técnicas deliberadas, que requieren planificación, conocimiento y transmisión de saberes . Son, en este sentido, el equivalente paleolítico de una nave espacial: el resultado de una mente que piensa a largo plazo, que anticipa necesidades y que diseña soluciones para problemas futuros.

Hacia una síntesis: el arte como testimonio de la continuidad humana

Winfried Menninghaus, en su libro Aesthetics after Darwin, propone un modelo de "cooptación" para explicar el origen múltiple de las artes humanas . Según este modelo, el arte surgió cuando tres adaptaciones antiguas y en gran medida independientes —los sesgos sensoriales vinculados a la selección sexual, el comportamiento de juego y la tecnología— se unieron y fueron transformadas por las capacidades humanas de cognición simbólica y lenguaje. El arte, desde esta perspectiva, no es una adaptación específica para una función concreta, sino una nueva variante de comportamiento que emergió de la confluencia de varios factores evolutivos.

Este modelo se ajusta perfectamente a la continuidad que hemos trazado desde Makapansgat hasta la exploración espacial. La capacidad de reconocer un rostro en una piedra (sesgo sensorial), la curiosidad por explorar lo desconocido (comportamiento de juego), y la habilidad para fabricar herramientas que nos permitan llegar más lejos (tecnología) se combinaron con la capacidad simbólica para crear arte, para viajar, para educar, para trascender.

La pregunta que nos planteábamos al principio —qué une al australopiteco, al artista paleolítico, al educador egipcio y al astronauta— encuentra así una respuesta: todos ellos son manifestaciones de una misma función neuronal única, que hemos denominado S/Y/C:

S (Supervivencia): la necesidad de conocer el entorno, de protegerse, de asegurar la continuidad de la vida. El guaraní que conoce la selva, el egipcio que protege a sus hijos, el astronauta que mantiene su nave en funcionamiento: todos ellos están atendiendo a la supervivencia.
Y (Symbolon): la capacidad de crear y compartir símbolos, de atribuir significado a objetos y acciones. El australopiteco que ve un rostro en una piedra, el artista que pinta un bisonte en una cueva, el egipcio que fabrica un amuleto, el astronauta que planta una bandera en la Luna: todos ellos están creando symbolon.
C (Completitud): la pulsión hacia la totalidad, la necesidad de cerrar un ciclo, de alcanzar una meta. El viajero que se adentra en la cueva, el explorador que cruza el océano, el astronauta que llega al espacio: todos ellos están buscando la completitud, la sensación de haber llegado a algún lugar.

Consideraciones finales: la especie que no deja de viajar

La historia de nuestra especie es la historia de un viaje continuo. Comenzó con un paso vacilante fuera de África, continuó con la exploración de todos los continentes, y hoy nos lleva a los confines del sistema solar. Pero el viaje no es solo físico. También es espiritual, simbólico, interior. El arte, la religión, la filosofía, la ciencia y la tecnología son las diferentes formas que ha adoptado ese viaje.

La piedra de Makapansgat, las pinturas de Altamira, las herramientas de hueso de Blombos, los amuletos egipcios, y las naves espaciales actuales son todos hitos de un mismo camino: el camino de una especie que no se conforma con lo que tiene, que siempre quiere ir más allá, que nunca deja de preguntarse qué hay al otro lado.

Y en ese camino, lo que llevamos con nosotros es siempre lo mismo: nuestra capacidad de simbolizar, de crear significado, de buscar la totalidad. Eso es lo que nos hace humanos. Y eso es lo que, probablemente, seguirá acompañándonos mientras el viaje continúe.

Referencias bibliográficas

Clottes, J. (2003). De « l'art pour l'art » au chamanisme : l'interprétation de l'art préhistorique. La revue pour l'histoire du CNRS, (8). https://doi.org/10.4000/histoire-cnrs.553

Mallo, B. (2023). La construcción neuro-simbólica. Una aproximación al funcionamiento del cerebro desde una perspectiva multidisciplinar [Tesis doctoral, Universidad del País Vasco - Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea]. Repositorio ADDI. http://hdl.handle.net/10810/62701

Mallo, B. (2025). Arte y biología: Una aproximación neurofilosófica al origen de la experiencia estética. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0E8Y5WZMK

Mallo, B. (2025). Art and biology: A neurophilosophical approach to the origin of aesthetic experience. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0E8Y6C2XN

Mallo, B. (2026a). De la filosofía quirúrgica a la ley de coherencia biológica S/Y/C: Hacia una investigación sobre el origen del arte en la especie Homo [Versión Kindle]. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GYGTJD5C

Menninghaus, W. (2019). Aesthetics after Darwin: The multiple origins and functions of the arts (A. Berlina, Trad.). Academic Studies Press. (Obra original publicada en 2011)

Autor / Author

Bernabé Mallo
Doctor en Filosofía – Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU)
Investigador independiente en neurofilosofía, evolución humana y origen del arte.

Bernabé Mallo
PhD in Philosophy – University of the Basque Country / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU)
Independent researcher in neurophilosophy, human evolution, and the origin of art.

Enlaces / Links

domingo, 2 de agosto de 2026

From Magic to Trance: The Long Journey Towards Interpreting Palaeolithic Art

Bernabé Mallo

A review of Jean Clottes' article (2003): From «Art for Art's Sake» to Shamanism: The Interpretation of Prehistoric Art

Introduction: the enigma of the deep caves

Why did our Palaeolithic ancestors venture into the depths of the earth, into dark and narrow galleries, to paint and engrave animals that could barely be seen? What drove them to leave their mark in places where torchlight barely illuminated the rock, far from settlements and from everyday view? The question of the meaning of prehistoric art has fascinated researchers for over a century, and the answers have been as varied as the currents of thought that generated them.

Jean Clottes, one of the world's most distinguished prehistorians, former General Curator of Heritage at the French Ministry of Culture and scientific director of the Chauvet cave studies, published in 2003 an article in La revue pour l'histoire du CNRS that offers a masterful overview of the history of interpretations of Palaeolithic art . In it, Clottes not only reviews the main theories that have succeeded one another since the 19th century —art for art's sake, totemism, sympathetic magic, structuralism— but also presents the hypothesis that he himself has defended together with South African anthropologist David Lewis-Williams: shamanism as an explanatory framework for understanding cave art .

The article, despite its brevity, condenses decades of reflection and fieldwork. Clottes warns us from the outset of the difficulties of interpreting a "fossil" art, whose ultimate meaning is inaccessible to us . However, far from the pessimism of those who recommend abandoning all research on meaning, Clottes argues that it is possible to reach a certain degree of understanding using three types of arguments: those that come from the art itself, those that derive from its archaeological context, and those that rely on ethnological comparisons with recent traditional societies that practise or practised rock art .

The insufficiency of the modern gaze: "art for art's sake" and its limits

The first attempt to explain Palaeolithic art, following the discovery of decorated objects in the second half of the 19th century, was the theory of "art for art's sake" . Engravings and sculptures would have no other purpose than to adorn weapons and tools, for the sheer pleasure of doing so. This interpretation, however, reflected more the conceptions of the time —the militant anti-clericalism of some prehistorians and the idea of the "noble savage" living in a world of abundance— than a rigorous approach to the Palaeolithic phenomenon.

Clottes points out that this theory was abandoned because it could not account for the paintings and engravings located in the deep galleries, far from settlements and from view . If art had been merely entertainment or ornamentation, why would it have been produced in such inaccessible and dark places? The theory of "art for art's sake" also clashed with ethnological evidence: in traditional societies, the concept of "art" as a disinterested and autonomous activity was absent. Images were produced within the framework of the community and for a specific purpose, not for the pleasure of the author or the satisfaction of personal desires.

Magic and totemism: art as an instrument of survival

At the end of the 19th century and during the first half of the 20th, the dominant interpretation was sympathetic magic, developed by Salomon Reinach and popularised by Abbé Breuil and Count Bégouën . This theory was based on the belief that there was a direct relationship between the image and the subject represented: by acting on the image, one acted on the real animal. Magical practices would have had three main purposes: to ensure success in hunting, to promote the fertility of useful species, and to destroy dangerous animals .

The hunting magic hypothesis seemed to explain well the presence of wounded animals or those pierced by arrows, as well as the location of figures in remote and often difficult-to-access places. However, Clottes points out the contradictions of this theory. Animals marked with wounds are rare, explicit mating scenes are scarce, and the remains of hunted animals in settlements do not correspond to the most represented species on cave walls . As Claude Lévi-Strauss noted, some animals were "good to eat" and others "good to think with", forming part of a "bestiary" linked to socio-religious traditions . Moreover, sympathetic magic could not explain the presence of negative hands, caricatured human figures, or, above all, composite creatures, those monstrous beings that do not exist in nature and whose destruction or multiplication would make no sense.

Totemism, which proposes a privileged relationship between a human group and an animal or plant species that characterises and venerates it, was another brief attempt . However, it was criticised because some animals appeared to be struck by weapons, which was incompatible with the respect due to the totem, and because the mixtures of species in each cave did not correspond to the homogeneity that might be expected from clan emblems .

Structuralism: art as a binary system

The second half of the 20th century was marked by structuralism, whose main exponents in the study of Palaeolithic art were Annette Laming-Emperaire and André Leroi-Gourhan . In contrast to ethnological comparativism, the structuralists proposed a return to the cave and to the works, seeking in their distribution and associations the principles of a symbolic grammar.

Leroi-Gourhan, through statistical analyses, concluded that bison and horses formed the basis of the bestiary and preferentially occupied the central panels, while complementary animals (ibex, deer) occupied a secondary place and formidable animals (lions, bears) were relegated to the depths. Geometric signs would participate in this symbolism in a binary system where animals and signs would have a masculine or feminine value, opposite and complementary .

Clottes points out that, despite their failure as attempts at global interpretation, structuralist theories have profoundly influenced research. The importance of the cave in choices and meanings can no longer be questioned; the distribution of drawings according to relief and topography has become a fundamental element of modern studies . However, criticisms have also been forceful: the sexual typology of animals and signs was considered too subjective, and the schemes proposed by Leroi-Gourhan proved inapplicable to many caves discovered subsequently .

Shamanism: the hypothesis that integrates art, mind and landscape

The most recent hypothesis, and the one that Clottes defends together with Lewis-Williams, is that of Palaeolithic shamanism . This interpretation is based on the idea that shamanic religions, which cover the entire north of the planet and part of the Americas, are the religions par excellence of hunter-gatherer peoples . Their antiquity and cosmological character make them an appropriate framework for understanding Palaeolithic art.

Shamanism is characterised by a conception of a complex cosmos where at least two worlds coexist, and by the belief that some people can, through trance, enter into contact with the spirit world to heal the sick, maintain natural balance, or ensure success in hunting . The shaman acts as a mediator between the real world and that of the spirits, often with the help of animal auxiliaries.

Clottes and Lewis-Williams establish an analogy between the underground journey to the depths of the caves and the shamanic journey to the spirit world . The Palaeolithic people, by venturing into the depths, were deliberately venturing into the supernatural world. The underground environment, with its darkness and silence, favoured the appearance of altered states of consciousness and hallucinations . The parietal representations would be, in this framework, the materialisation of shamanic visions.

Clottes identifies several elements of rock art that support this hypothesis. Animals, often represented without ground lines or respect for gravity, float on the walls like visions during trance. Geometric signs, points, lines, zigzags or grids, resemble those perceived in the different phases of shamanic trance . Composite beings, animals and humans mixed together, are part of this world of visions.

But perhaps one of the most powerful arguments is the relationship with natural reliefs. If one's mind is full of images of animals, a hollow in the rock highlighted by shadows will evoke the rump of a horse or the back of a bison. How could one not believe then that the animal spirits, encountered in visions, are there, half-released from the rock by the magic of the flickering torchlight, and ready to disappear back into it? In a few strokes, the artists perpetuated their power.

Cracks and hollows offered escapes to the depths of the rock, where spirits dwelled. Bones stuck into walls, finger marks and negative hands would be different ways of establishing direct contact with the forces underlying the rock, perhaps by uninitiated individuals who participated in the ritual . Negative hands, by merging with the wall, established a metaphorical connection with the spirit world.

The shamanic hypothesis, as Clottes acknowledges, has been widely criticised. The impossibility of knowing the meanings, the lack of formal proof, the vanity of ethnological comparisons, and the overly important role attributed to trance have all been questioned . However, Clottes argues that the shamanic hypothesis, building on previous knowledge, is currently the one that best explains the available data on the art of caves and objects of the Upper Palaeolithic .

Connection with research on the origin of art (S/Y/C)

The journey that Clottes traces through the history of interpretations of Palaeolithic art resonates deeply with the research we have been developing on the S/Y/C model of neuronal functioning and the Law of Biological Coherence (Mallo, 2023, 2025, 2026a, 2026b). Each of the theories reviewed by Clottes illuminates a different aspect of the function of art, but the shamanic hypothesis is the one that comes closest to an integrative understanding that connects art with mind, body, and cosmos.

The S (Survival) dimension manifests in all the interpretations that see in art a tool for survival, whether through hunting magic (to ensure food) or fertility magic (to guarantee the reproduction of species). Art, in this sense, is an extension of the homeostatic function: it not only helps to survive physically, but also allows people to process and share experiences, regulate emotions, and build group identity.

The Y (Symbolon) dimension is central in structuralism and, above all, in the shamanic hypothesis. Animals and geometric signs are not mere representations of reality, but symbols that refer to a system of shared meaning. Symbolon is the bridge between the internal world and the social world, between the shaman's visions and the community that interprets them. The cave, with its topography and reliefs, becomes a symbolic support where meaning is embodied in the rock.

The C (Wholeness) dimension manifests in the very structure of the caves and in the need to close a journey, to complete a ritual. The entrance to the cave, the descent into the depths, and the return to the light form a journey that seeks a totality, a coherence. Cave art, by integrating with the topography of the cave, is not a collection of isolated figures, but part of a whole that only acquires full meaning in its context.

Surgical Philosophy invites us to make a precise analytical cut in Clottes' article. It is not about choosing one of the theories as definitive, but about recognising that each has contributed to delimiting the field of the possible. Palaeolithic art, like art in general, is a complex phenomenon that is not exhausted in a single function or meaning. The shamanic hypothesis has the virtue of integrating the psychophysiological dimension (trance, hallucination) with the cultural and symbolic dimension, and with the ecological and social context. And it is precisely this integration that makes it the most fertile explanatory framework for our research.

Final considerations: interpretation as an open process

Jean Clottes' article reminds us that the interpretation of Palaeolithic art is a task that requires humility and, at the same time, audacity. Humility to recognise the limits of our knowledge, the unbridgeable distance that separates us from the minds that created those works, and the provisional character of all our hypotheses. Audacity to not renounce understanding, to dare to formulate questions and propose interpretive frameworks that make sense of the available data.

Clottes shows us that the history of interpretations of prehistoric art is not a history of linear progress, but of successive paradigm shifts, each of which has illuminated some aspects of the phenomenon while leaving others in the shadows. "Art for art's sake", sympathetic magic, structuralism, and shamanism are not so much false theories as partial perspectives, which have enriched our understanding as analytical techniques and ethnological knowledge have advanced.

The shamanic hypothesis, defended by Clottes and Lewis-Williams, represents perhaps the most ambitious attempt to integrate the different levels of analysis: the neuropsychological, the ethnological, the archaeological, and the symbolic. Its main contribution has been to restore to Palaeolithic art its dimension of embodied practice, of lived experience, of encounter between the human mind and the forces of the world.

And it is precisely this dimension that connects Palaeolithic art with contemporary art, and with our research on the origin of art in the Homo species. Art, from its earliest manifestations in the depths of the caves, has not only been a way of representing the world, but also a way of transforming it, of establishing a dialogue with the sacred, of exploring the limits of human experience.

References

Clottes, J. (2003). De « l'art pour l'art » au chamanisme : l'interprétation de l'art préhistorique. La revue pour l'histoire du CNRS, (8). https://doi.org/10.4000/histoire-cnrs.553

Mallo, B. (2025). Arte y biología: Una aproximación neurofilosófica al origen de la experiencia estética. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0E8Y5WZMK

Mallo, B. (2025). Art and biology: A neurophilosophical approach to the origin of aesthetic experience. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0E8Y6C2XN

Autor / Author

Bernabé Mallo
Doctor en Filosofía – Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU)
Investigador independiente en neurofilosofía, evolución humana y origen del arte.

Bernabé Mallo
PhD in Philosophy – University of the Basque Country / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU)
Independent researcher in neurophilosophy, human evolution, and the origin of art.

Enlaces / Links

De la magia al trance: el largo viaje hacia la interpretación del arte paleolítico

Bernabé Mallo

Una reseña del artículo de Jean Clottes (2003): De «l'art pour l'art» au chamanisme: l'interprétation de l'art préhistorique

Introducción: el enigma de las cuevas profundas

¿Por qué nuestros antepasados del Paleolítico se adentraban en las profundidades de la tierra, en galerías oscuras y estrechas, para pintar y grabar animales que apenas podían verse? ¿Qué les impulsaba a dejar su huella en lugares donde la luz de las antorchas apenas alcanzaba a iluminar la roca, lejos de los hábitats y de la mirada cotidiana? La pregunta por el significado del arte prehistórico ha fascinado a investigadores durante más de un siglo, y las respuestas han sido tan variadas como las corrientes de pensamiento que las han generado.

Jean Clottes, uno de los prehistoriadores más destacados del mundo, ex Conservador General del Patrimonio del Ministerio de Cultura francés y director científico de los estudios de la cueva de Chauvet, publicó en 2003 un artículo en La revue pour l'histoire du CNRS que ofrece un recorrido magistral por la historia de las interpretaciones del arte paleolítico . En él, Clottes no solo revisa las principales teorías que se han sucedido desde el siglo XIX —el arte por el arte, el totemismo, la magia simpática, el estructuralismo— sino que también presenta la hipótesis que él mismo ha defendido junto al antropólogo sudafricano David Lewis-Williams: el chamanismo como marco explicativo para comprender el arte de las cavernas .

El artículo, a pesar de su brevedad, condensa décadas de reflexión y trabajo de campo. Clottes nos advierte desde el principio de las dificultades de interpretar un arte "fósil", cuyo significado último nos es inaccesible . Sin embargo, lejos del pesimismo de quienes recomiendan abandonar toda investigación sobre el significado, Clottes defiende que es posible alcanzar un cierto grado de comprensión utilizando tres tipos de argumentos: los que provienen del arte en sí mismo, los que derivan de su contexto arqueológico, y los que se apoyan en comparaciones etnológicas con sociedades tradicionales recientes que practican o practicaban el arte rupestre .

La insuficiencia de la mirada moderna: el "arte por el arte" y sus límites

La primera tentativa de explicación del arte paleolítico, surgida tras los descubrimientos de objetos decorados en la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, fue la teoría del "arte por el arte" . Los grabados y esculturas no tendrían otro propósito que adornar armas y herramientas, por el simple placer de hacerlo. Esta interpretación, sin embargo, reflejaba más las concepciones de la época —el anticlericalismo militante de algunos prehistoriadores y la idea del "buen salvaje" viviendo en un mundo de abundancia— que una aproximación rigurosa al fenómeno paleolítico.

Clottes señala que esta teoría fue abandonada porque no podía dar cuenta de las pinturas y grabados situados en las galerías profundas, lejos de los hábitats y de la vista . Si el arte hubiera sido solo un entretenimiento o una ornamentación, ¿por qué habrían de realizarse en lugares tan inaccesibles y oscuros? La teoría del "arte por el arte" también chocaba con la evidencia etnológica: en las sociedades tradicionales, el concepto de "arte" como actividad desinteresada y autónoma estaba ausente. Las imágenes se producían en el marco de la comunidad y con un propósito específico, no para el placer del autor ni la satisfacción de sus deseos personales.

Magia y totemismo: el arte como instrumento de supervivencia

A finales del siglo XIX y durante la primera mitad del XX, la interpretación dominante fue la magia simpática, desarrollada por Salomon Reinach y popularizada por el Abate Breuil y el Conde Bégouën . Esta teoría se basaba en la creencia de que existía una relación directa entre la imagen y el sujeto representado: actuando sobre la imagen se actuaba sobre el animal real. Las prácticas mágicas habrían tenido tres propósitos principales: asegurar el éxito en la caza, promover la fertilidad de las especies útiles y destruir a los animales peligrosos .

La hipótesis de la magia de la caza parecía explicar bien la presencia de animales heridos o atravesados por flechas, así como la ubicación de las figuras en lugares recónditos y a menudo de difícil acceso. Sin embargo, Clottes señala las contradicciones de esta teoría. Los animales marcados con heridas son raros, las escenas de apareamiento explícitas son escasas, y los restos de animales cazados en los hábitats no se corresponden con las especies más representadas en las paredes de las cuevas . Como señaló Claude Lévi-Strauss, algunos animales eran "buenos para comer" y otros "buenos para pensar", formando parte de un "bestiario" vinculado a tradiciones socio-religiosas . Además, la magia simpática no podía explicar la presencia de manos negativas, figuras humanas caricaturizadas o, sobre todo, las criaturas compuestas, esos seres monstruosos que no existen en la naturaleza y cuya destrucción o multiplicación no tendría sentido.

El totemismo, que propone una relación privilegiada entre un grupo humano y una especie animal o vegetal que lo caracteriza y venera, fue otra tentativa breve . Sin embargo, fue criticado porque algunos animales parecían estar golpeados por armas, lo que era incompatible con el respeto debido al tótem, y porque las mezclas de especies en cada cueva no se correspondían con la homogeneidad que cabría esperar de emblemas de clanes .

El estructuralismo: el arte como sistema binario

La segunda mitad del siglo XX estuvo marcada por el estructuralismo, cuyos principales exponentes en el estudio del arte paleolítico fueron Annette Laming-Emperaire y André Leroi-Gourhan . Frente al comparativismo etnológico, los estructuralistas propusieron un retorno a la cueva y a las obras, buscando en su distribución y asociaciones los principios de una gramática simbólica.

Leroi-Gourhan, mediante análisis estadísticos, concluyó que bisontes y caballos formaban la base del bestiario y ocupaban preferentemente los paneles centrales, mientras que los animales complementarios (cabras, ciervos) ocupaban un segundo lugar y los animales formidables (leones, osos) eran relegados a las profundidades. Los signos geométricos participarían de este simbolismo en un sistema binario donde animales y signos tendrían un valor masculino o femenino, opuesto y complementario .

Clottes señala que, a pesar de su fracaso como intentos de interpretación global, las teorías estructuralistas han influido profundamente en la investigación. La importancia de la cueva en las elecciones y los significados ya no puede cuestionarse; las distribuciones de dibujos según el relieve y la topografía se han convertido en elementos fundamentales de los estudios modernos . Sin embargo, las críticas han sido también contundentes: la tipología sexual de animales y signos se consideró demasiado subjetiva, y los esquemas propuestos por Leroi-Gourhan no resultaron aplicables a muchas cuevas descubiertas posteriormente .

El chamanismo: la hipótesis que integra arte, mente y paisaje

La hipótesis más reciente, y la que Clottes defiende junto a Lewis-Williams, es la del chamanismo paleolítico . Esta interpretación se apoya en la idea de que las religiones chamánicas, que cubren todo el norte del planeta y parte de América, son las religiones por excelencia de los pueblos cazadores-recolectores . Su antigüedad y su carácter cosmológico las convierten en un marco apropiado para comprender el arte paleolítico.

El chamanismo se caracteriza por una concepción de un cosmos complejo donde coexisten al menos dos mundos, y por la creencia de que algunas personas pueden, mediante el trance, entrar en contacto con el mundo espiritual para curar a los enfermos, mantener el equilibrio natural o asegurar el éxito en la caza . El chamán actúa como mediador entre el mundo real y el de los espíritus, a menudo con la ayuda de animales auxiliares.

Clottes y Lewis-Williams establecen una analogía entre el viaje subterráneo al fondo de las cuevas y el viaje chamánico al mundo de los espíritus . Los hombres del Paleolítico, al adentrarse en las profundidades, se aventuraban deliberadamente en el mundo sobrenatural. El medio subterráneo, con su oscuridad y silencio, favorecía la aparición de estados alterados de conciencia y alucinaciones . Las representaciones parietales serían, en este marco, la materialización de las visiones chamánicas.

Clottes identifica varios elementos del arte rupestre que apoyan esta hipótesis. Los animales, a menudo representados sin líneas de suelo ni respeto a la gravedad, flotan en las paredes como las visiones durante el trance. Los signos geométricos elementales, puntos, líneas, zigzags o retículas, se asemejan a los que se perciben en las distintas fases del trance chamánico . Los seres compuestos, animales y humanos mezclados, forman parte de ese mundo de visiones.

Pero quizás uno de los argumentos más potentes es la relación con los relieves naturales. Si se tiene la mente llena de imágenes de animales, un hueco en la roca subrayado con sombras evoca la grupa de un caballo o el lomo de un bisonte. ¿Cómo no creer entonces que los espíritus animales, encontrados en las visiones, no están ahí, medio liberados de la roca por la magia de la luz fluctuante de la antorcha, y listos para desaparecer en ella de nuevo? En unos pocos trazos, los artistas perpetuaban su poder.

Las grietas y huecos ofrecían fugas a las profundidades de la roca, donde se mantenían los espíritus. Los huesos clavados en las paredes, las huellas digitales y las manos negativas serían diferentes formas de establecer un contacto directo con las fuerzas subyacentes a la roca, quizás por parte de individuos no iniciados que participaban en el ritual . Las manos negativas, al fundirse con la pared, establecían una conexión metafórica con el mundo espiritual.

La hipótesis chamánica, como Clottes reconoce, ha sido ampliamente criticada. Se ha cuestionado la imposibilidad de conocer los significados, la falta de pruebas formales, la vanidad de las comparaciones etnológicas y el papel demasiado importante atribuido al trance . Sin embargo, Clottes defiende que la hipótesis chamánica, aprovechando los conocimientos previos, es la que actualmente explica mejor los datos disponibles sobre el arte de las cuevas y objetos del Paleolítico superior .

Conexión con la investigación sobre el origen del arte (S/Y/C)

El recorrido que Clottes traza por la historia de las interpretaciones del arte paleolítico resuena profundamente con la investigación que venimos desarrollando sobre el modelo S/Y/C del funcionamiento neuronal y la Ley de coherencia biológica (Mallo, 2023, 2025, 2026a, 2026b). Cada una de las teorías revisadas por Clottes ilumina un aspecto diferente de la función del arte, pero la hipótesis chamánica es la que más se aproxima a una comprensión integradora que conecta el arte con la mente, el cuerpo y el cosmos.

La dimensión S (Supervivencia) se manifiesta en todas las interpretaciones que ven en el arte una herramienta para la supervivencia, ya sea a través de la magia de la caza (para asegurar el alimento) o de la magia de la fertilidad (para garantizar la reproducción de las especies). El arte, en este sentido, es una extensión de la función homeostática: no solo ayuda a sobrevivir físicamente, sino que permite procesar y compartir experiencias, regular emociones y construir identidad grupal.

La dimensión Y (Symbolon) es central en el estructuralismo y, sobre todo, en la hipótesis chamánica. Los animales y los signos geométricos no son meras representaciones de la realidad, sino símbolos que remiten a un sistema de significado compartido. El symbolon es el puente entre el mundo interno y el mundo social, entre las visiones del chamán y la comunidad que las interpreta. La cueva, con su topografía y sus relieves, se convierte en un soporte simbólico donde el significado se encarna en la roca.

La dimensión C (Completitud) se manifiesta en la propia estructura de las cuevas y en la necesidad de cerrar un recorrido, de completar un ritual. La entrada a la cueva, el descenso a las profundidades y el retorno a la luz conforman un viaje que busca una totalidad, una coherencia. El arte parietal, al integrarse con la topografía de la cueva, no es una colección de figuras aisladas, sino parte de un todo que solo adquiere pleno sentido en su contexto.

La Filosofía Quirúrgica nos invita a aplicar un corte analítico preciso al artículo de Clottes. No se trata de elegir una de las teorías como la definitiva, sino de reconocer que cada una ha contribuido a delimitar el campo de lo posible. El arte paleolítico, como el arte en general, es un fenómeno complejo que no se agota en una única función o significado. La hipótesis chamánica tiene la virtud de integrar la dimensión psicofisiológica (el trance, la alucinación) con la dimensión cultural y simbólica, y con el contexto ecológico y social. Y es precisamente esa integración la que la convierte en el marco explicativo más fértil para nuestra investigación.

Consideraciones finales: la interpretación como proceso abierto

El artículo de Jean Clottes nos recuerda que la interpretación del arte paleolítico es una tarea que requiere humildad y, al mismo tiempo, audacia. Humildad para reconocer los límites de nuestro conocimiento, la distancia insalvable que nos separa de las mentes que crearon esas obras, y el carácter provisional de todas nuestras hipótesis. Audacia para no renunciar a comprender, para atrevernos a formular preguntas y proponer marcos interpretativos que den sentido a los datos disponibles.

Clottes nos muestra que la historia de las interpretaciones del arte prehistórico no es una historia de progreso lineal, sino de sucesivos cambios de paradigma, cada uno de los cuales ha iluminado algunos aspectos del fenómeno mientras dejaba otros en la sombra. El "arte por el arte", la magia simpática, el estructuralismo y el chamanismo no son tanto teorías falsas como perspectivas parciales, que han ido enriqueciendo nuestra comprensión a medida que avanzaban las técnicas de análisis y el conocimiento etnológico.

La hipótesis chamánica, defendida por Clottes y Lewis-Williams, representa quizás el intento más ambicioso de integrar los diferentes niveles de análisis: el neuropsicológico, el etnológico, el arqueológico y el simbólico. Su principal aportación es haber devuelto al arte paleolítico su dimensión de práctica encarnada, de experiencia vivida, de encuentro entre la mente humana y las fuerzas del mundo.

Y es precisamente esa dimensión la que conecta el arte paleolítico con el arte contemporáneo, y con nuestra investigación sobre el origen del arte en la especie Homo. El arte, desde sus primeras manifestaciones en las profundidades de las cuevas, no ha sido solo una forma de representar el mundo, sino una forma de transformarlo, de establecer un diálogo con lo sagrado, de explorar los límites de la experiencia humana.

Referencias bibliográficas

Clottes, J. (2003). De « l'art pour l'art » au chamanisme : l'interprétation de l'art préhistorique. La revue pour l'histoire du CNRS, (8). https://doi.org/10.4000/histoire-cnrs.553

Mallo, B. (2025). Arte y biología: Una aproximación neurofilosófica al origen de la experiencia estética. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0E8Y5WZMK

Mallo, B. (2025). Art and biology: A neurophilosophical approach to the origin of aesthetic experience. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0E8Y6C2XN

Autor / Author

Bernabé Mallo
Doctor en Filosofía – Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU)
Investigador independiente en neurofilosofía, evolución humana y origen del arte.

Bernabé Mallo
PhD in Philosophy – University of the Basque Country / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU)
Independent researcher in neurophilosophy, human evolution, and the origin of art.

Enlaces / Links

viernes, 24 de julio de 2026

Bones That Speak: The World's Oldest Bone Tool Industry and the Origin of Modern Behavior

Bernabé Mallo

A review of the discovery by Henshilwood and colleagues (2001): An early bone tool industry from the Middle Stone Age at Blombos Cave, South Africa: implications for the origins of modern human behaviour, symbolism and language

Introduction: when bone becomes technology

What distinguishes a modern human from their more archaic ancestors? Not only anatomy —the rounded skull, the less prominent jaw— but something more difficult to trace in the fossil record: the capacity to plan, to execute complex technical sequences, to create tools that do not imitate the shape of stone but exploit the properties of other materials. For decades, archaeologists have considered the manufacture of bone tools to be a key marker of modern behavior. And for decades, it was thought that this behavior had emerged in Europe about 40,000 years ago, as part of the "symbolic explosion" of the Upper Paleolithic (Henshilwood et al., 2001).

A discovery published in 2001 in the Journal of Human Evolution by Christopher Henshilwood and an international team of researchers radically changed this narrative (Henshilwood et al., 2001). In Blombos Cave, on the southern coast of South Africa, they recovered 28 bone tools from Middle Stone Age (MSA) levels dating to about 70,000 years ago. This is the largest collection of formal bone tools found at a single African MSA site, and its existence demonstrates that sophisticated bone technology is not a European invention, but a much earlier African innovation (Henshilwood et al., 2001).

These tools, which include awls and projectile points, were manufactured following a sequence of deliberate technical choices: blank selection, shaping using various techniques, and final finishing (Henshilwood et al., 2001). Their presence, together with other finds at the same site —engraved ochre, bifacial stone points, and a diversified subsistence economy— is "turning the tide in favour of models positing behavioural modernity in Africa at a time far earlier than previously accepted" (Henshilwood et al., 2001, p. 631).

The Blombos discovery: 28 tools that rewrite history

Between 1992 and 2000, excavations at Blombos Cave —a rock shelter overlooking the Indian Ocean on the Western Cape of South Africa— brought to light 28 bone tools, recovered in situ from MSA levels dating to about 70,000 years ago (Henshilwood et al., 2001). This is the largest collection of formal bone tools found at a single African MSA site, and its detailed study has revealed a degree of technical sophistication that contradicts traditional models of the origin of modern behavior.

Microscopic and morphometric analyses show that these tools were not manufactured casually or improvisationally. They follow a structured production sequence that includes: (1) the production of a rough blank; (2) the application of various shaping methods; and (3) the final finishing of the artifact to produce awls and projectile points (Henshilwood et al., 2001). The manufacturing techniques are comparable to those described for "formal" bone tools from other contexts, and their planning and execution are consistent with those of the late Holocene, indicating a continuity in cognitive and technical capacity over tens of thousands of years (Henshilwood et al., 2001).

The assemblage includes tools that were probably used for working hides (the awls) and others that may have served as hunting weapons (the projectile points). The presence of these tools in the MSA is particularly notable because, as the authors note, "bone tools are rarely found in African Middle or Later Stone Age sites before ca. 25 ka" (Henshilwood et al., 2001, p. 631). Their scarcity had been cited as evidence of a lack of modern technological or cognitive capacities before ca. 50 ka. The Blombos discovery demonstrates that this scarcity is not due to an incapacity, but probably to preservation biases and limited archaeological research in Africa (Henshilwood et al., 2001).

The context: more than tools, symbolic behavior

The Blombos bone tools do not appear in isolation. They are part of a body of evidence pointing to fully modern behavior in the African MSA. Alongside the bone tools, researchers have documented:

Deliberate engravings on ochre, with abstract geometric patterns, demonstrating the capacity to create and share symbols (Henshilwood et al., 2002).
Bifacial stone points crafted with great skill, suggesting a high degree of planning and technical expertise.
Sophisticated subsistence strategies, including the hunting of terrestrial and marine animals, fishing, and shellfish collection, indicating a diversified exploitation of the environment and a deep knowledge of available resources.

This combination of evidence —advanced bone technology, symbolism, complex lithic artifacts, and an adaptive economy— is exactly the kind of "package" of behaviors that archaeologists have traditionally used to identify "modernity" in the archaeological record. And at Blombos, it appears 35,000 years earlier than it is documented in Europe (Henshilwood et al., 2001).

As Henshilwood himself noted in an interview at the time, "the real implications are that there was modern human behavior in Africa about 35,000 years before Europe" . Or, as another team member, Curtis Marean, put it: "Once again, in terms of human evolution, we're seeing that Africa was precocious: bipedal hominids evolved in Africa; the first real increase in brain size happened in Africa; and now, we're beginning to see that the last great advance, the development of modern behavior, also happened in Africa" .

Why are these tools important?

The importance of the Blombos discovery transcends the antiquity of the tools. Its significance lies in what it reveals about the human mind and the origin of technical and symbolic capacity.

1. They dismantle the myth of the European "symbolic explosion"

For a long time, archaeologists argued that modern behavior emerged suddenly and explosively in Europe about 40,000 years ago, in what was called the "symbolic explosion" of the Upper Paleolithic (Henshilwood et al., 2001). The Blombos bone tools, together with the ochre engravings and other finds, demonstrate that this narrative is wrong. Advanced bone technology and symbolic behavior did not suddenly emerge in Eurasia; they have much deeper roots in Africa, where anatomically modern humans had existed for tens of thousands of years.

2. They evidence the presence of syntactic language

The manufacture of formal bone tools —which require a sequence of technical decisions, long-term planning, and the transmission of knowledge— is indirect evidence for the existence of fully syntactic language (Henshilwood et al., 2001). To transmit manufacturing techniques from one generation to the next, and to coordinate hunting and resource processing activities, MSA human groups needed a complex communication system, comparable to our own.

3. They demonstrate a cultural tradition

The presence of 28 bone tools at the same site, manufactured following the same technical sequences and for the same purposes, suggests that we are not dealing with isolated acts, but with an established cultural tradition. Technical knowledge was transmitted and refined over generations. This cultural continuity, together with the evidence of symbolism, indicates that MSA groups already possessed a social and cognitive complexity comparable to that of modern populations.

4. They broaden our understanding of the origin of art and technology

The Blombos bone tools are not "art" in the sense of a painting or a sculpture. But they are a manifestation of the same technical and symbolic capacity that would later give rise to figurative art. The manufacture of specialized tools from materials other than stone requires an understanding of material properties, forward planning, and precise hand control. These same capacities would, later, allow humans to engrave symbols on ochre or paint figures on cave walls.

Connection with research on the origin of art (S/Y/C)

The Blombos discovery resonates deeply with the research we have been developing on the S/Y/C model of neuronal functioning and the Law of Biological Coherence (Mallo, 2023, 2025, 2026a, 2026b). These tools, made by anatomically modern humans 70,000 years ago, are an early manifestation of the technical and symbolic capacity that defines our species, and can be understood in light of our three dimensions.

The S (Survival) dimension manifests in the practical function of these tools: awls for working hides, projectile points for hunting. Bone technology is not a disinterested luxury; it is a tool of adaptation that improves the ability of human groups to obtain resources, process food, make clothing, and ultimately survive. The planning and execution of these tools reflects an investment of time and effort that only makes sense within a long-term survival strategy.

The Y (Symbolon) dimension emerges in the context of these tools. They are not merely useful objects; their manufacture following standardized sequences, their transmission as cultural knowledge, and their association with other symbolic artifacts (such as the ochre engravings) indicate that they were part of a system of shared meanings. Symbolon —the act of recognition through shared codes— is not limited to language or art; it also manifests in technology, in the transmission of technical knowledge, in the group identity constructed around shared practices.

The C (Wholeness) dimension manifests in the very structure of the tools: they are finished objects, which have passed through a complete production sequence to reach their final form. This drive toward totality —the need to complete a process, to achieve a result— is the same that guides the artist when finishing a work. Technology and art share, in this sense, a common root: the need to close forms, to give coherence to matter.

Surgical Philosophy invites us to make a precise analytical cut in these findings. It is not about seeing Blombos as the "origin" of modern technology and stopping there. It is about understanding that these tools are part of a continuous process that extends to the present day. What we see at Blombos is the emergence of a capacity —the technical and symbolic capacity— that will later develop, diversify, and become more complex over tens of thousands of years.

Implications for future research

The discovery by Henshilwood and colleagues, together with other discoveries at Blombos and at other African sites (such as the bone tools from Katanda, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or the bone points from Sibudu, in South Africa), has transformed our understanding of the origin of modern behavior. But it also opens new questions:

What other technological and symbolic innovations existed in the MSA? The presence of formal bone tools at Blombos suggests that MSA human groups already possessed a much wider technical repertoire than previously thought. What other materials did they use? What other techniques had they developed?
Why are bone tools so rare in the MSA record? If MSA humans already had the capacity to manufacture them, why do they appear in so few sites? Is it due to preservation biases (bone preserves less well than stone), to lower intensity of use, or to cultural factors?
What is the relationship between bone technology and art? The bone tools and ochre engravings appear at the same site and in the same levels. Did they share the same creators? Were they part of the same "package" of innovations? Are technical capacity and symbolic capacity related, or are they independent?
What role did these innovations play in the expansion of modern humans out of Africa? The accumulation of technological and symbolic innovations in the African MSA may have provided modern humans with an adaptive advantage that allowed them to successfully expand to other continents. But when exactly did this expansion occur, and what role did these innovations play?

Final considerations: bone as testimony to the modern mind

The discovery of the Blombos bone tools is much more than an archaeological news item. It is a window into the minds of our ancestors. It shows that, 70,000 years ago, in a cave by the sea, groups of anatomically modern humans already possessed the capacity to plan, to execute complex technical sequences, to transmit knowledge over generations, and to create artifacts that went beyond immediate need.

These tools are the testimony of a modern mind, a mind that could already think abstractly, that could already coordinate complex actions, that could already transform the world through technology. And that capacity, which is still alive today in every technology, in every work of art, in every tool we make, was not born in the caves of Eurasia 40,000 years ago. It was born in Africa, much earlier, and has been with us ever since.

As Henshilwood's team wrote in their 2001 article, the Blombos evidence, "taken together with recent finds from Klasies River, Katanda and other African Middle Stone Age sites [...] is turning the tide in favour of models positing behavioural modernity in Africa at a time far earlier than previously accepted" (Henshilwood et al., 2001, p. 631). Today we can add: and that modernity, which already existed 70,000 years ago, continues to define who we are.

References

Mallo, B. (2025). Arte y biología: Una aproximación neurofilosófica al origen de la experiencia estética. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0E8Y5WZMK

Mallo, B. (2025). Art and biology: A neurophilosophical approach to the origin of aesthetic experience. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0E8Y6C2XN

Autor / Author

Bernabé Mallo
Doctor en Filosofía – Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU)
Investigador independiente en neurofilosofía, evolución humana y origen del arte.

Bernabé Mallo
PhD in Philosophy – University of the Basque Country / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU)
Independent researcher in neurophilosophy, human evolution, and the origin of art.

viernes, 7 de agosto de 2026

The Human Journey: From the Makapansgat Pebble to the Far Reaches of the Cosmos

Bernabé Mallo

A reflection on the origin of art and the continuity of the species through the lens of Clottes, Menninghaus, and Henshilwood

Introduction: a simple and complex question

The enigma of Makapansgat: the first symbolic gesture

Cave art: why hide beauty?

The restless traveller: from Altamira to outer space

Towards a synthesis: art as testimony to human continuity

Final considerations: the species that never stops travelling

References

Enlaces / Links

El viaje humano: de la piedra de Makapansgat a los confines del cosmos

Bernabé Mallo

Una reflexión sobre el origen del arte y la continuidad de la especie a la luz de Clottes, Menninghaus y Henshilwood

Introducción: una pregunta simple y compleja

El enigma de Makapansgat: el primer gesto simbólico

El arte de las cuevas: ¿por qué esconder la belleza?

El viajero incansable: de Altamira al espacio exterior

Hacia una síntesis: el arte como testimonio de la continuidad humana

Consideraciones finales: la especie que no deja de viajar

Referencias bibliográficas

Enlaces / Links

domingo, 2 de agosto de 2026

From Magic to Trance: The Long Journey Towards Interpreting Palaeolithic Art

Bernabé Mallo

A review of Jean Clottes' article (2003): From «Art for Art's Sake» to Shamanism: The Interpretation of Prehistoric Art

Introduction: the enigma of the deep caves

The insufficiency of the modern gaze: "art for art's sake" and its limits

Magic and totemism: art as an instrument of survival

Structuralism: art as a binary system

Shamanism: the hypothesis that integrates art, mind and landscape

Connection with research on the origin of art (S/Y/C)

Final considerations: interpretation as an open process

References

Enlaces / Links

De la magia al trance: el largo viaje hacia la interpretación del arte paleolítico

Bernabé Mallo

Una reseña del artículo de Jean Clottes (2003): De «l'art pour l'art» au chamanisme: l'interprétation de l'art préhistorique

Introducción: el enigma de las cuevas profundas

La insuficiencia de la mirada moderna: el "arte por el arte" y sus límites

Magia y totemismo: el arte como instrumento de supervivencia

El estructuralismo: el arte como sistema binario

El chamanismo: la hipótesis que integra arte, mente y paisaje

Conexión con la investigación sobre el origen del arte (S/Y/C)

Consideraciones finales: la interpretación como proceso abierto

Referencias bibliográficas

Enlaces / Links

viernes, 24 de julio de 2026

Bones That Speak: The World's Oldest Bone Tool Industry and the Origin of Modern Behavior

Bernabé Mallo

A review of the discovery by Henshilwood and colleagues (2001): An early bone tool industry from the Middle Stone Age at Blombos Cave, South Africa: implications for the origins of modern human behaviour, symbolism and language

Introduction: when bone becomes technology

The Blombos discovery: 28 tools that rewrite history

The context: more than tools, symbolic behavior

Why are these tools important?

1. They dismantle the myth of the European "symbolic explosion"

2. They evidence the presence of syntactic language

3. They demonstrate a cultural tradition

4. They broaden our understanding of the origin of art and technology

Connection with research on the origin of art (S/Y/C)

Implications for future research

Final considerations: bone as testimony to the modern mind

References

Enlaces / Links

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