ANT200Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Blombos Cave, Venus Figurines, Franz Boas
Document Summary
Made north american anthropology what we know as today (somewhat) An ardent anti-racist in a time where scientific racism was a fundamental school of thought: he had a very different way of looking at humanity: that we are all one species. Hypothesis: once homo erectus spreads out of africa, there is a derivation of neanderthals in europe and modern humans, we share the last common ancestor called h. heidel. Very distinctive african vs europe and asian. Dichotomy: art and symbolic behaviour: this interest is due to the fact that we cannot excavate language. If we find the earliest traces of symbolism, language could be connected to it. Some part of the evolution language became unlocked. Things should not just come out of the blue. Aurignacian artwork: beginning around 40,000 years ago in europe. Crude engravings from caves: castanet, france. Figurines carved from mammoth ivory: vogelherd, germany. There were also flutes made from vultures bones.
