Above are two depictions of preliterate humans. I have chosen the figure on the left to represent humans at the beginning of the preliterate period (150,000 BC -50,000BC) and the figure on the right other to represent them immediately before the advent of literacy ( 4000BC).
Both of these preliterate humans were just as bright as we are. But there were a few critical differences.
Early humans had a much different consciousness. They did not have the reflective mind space that we have that allows us to imagine future paths.
In its place, they heard guiding psychic voices they took to be the Gods. In addition, they had easy access to their unconscious minds and the psychic realm.
They were not so much concerned with logically examining the world but intuitively imitating it through art. Oral story poetry, cave paintings, and sculpture were the primary forms.
We have only transcribed remnants of the great flood of oral poetry that once filled those cultures.
Some of the sculptures and paintings have survived intact. A few are shown below and are critical to understanding preliterate cultures.
The large number of female figures are from the very early (60,000-4,000BC) Mother Goddess period that preceded the rise of the male Gods.
But first let us consider this 17,000 year old drawing at Lascaux.
Here's an equally old drawing from another cave
The art of preliterate man is hard to categorize. It ranges from the extremely simplistic to the sublime, as in these cave drawings.
My own take on the incredible art produced by the people who painted the walls of Lascaux and the other caves is two fold.
One: not all preliterate peoples advanced uniformly. Some seem to have developed highly sophisticated cultures while others didn't.
Two: preliterate man was a naturally artistic creature who experienced sudden bursts in creative insight because he always worked from the unconscious, which is unpredictable in its projected visions.
HERE ARE SOME DAZZLING EXAMPLES OF PRELITERATE ART THAT HAVE SURVIVED THE RAVAGES OF OVER 30,000 YEARS OF TIME.
