Page 178 - Flipping book The Adam Paradox Hypothesis - Second Edition.pdf

The Ādam Paradox Hypothesis 155
Diepkloof Rock Shelter (~65 ka): Contracts on Ostrich Shells
Engraved ostrich eggshell fragments with repeated geometric motifs
(Texier et al., 2010) reveal one of the first symbolic codes. Used as water
flasks, they carried markings that likely signified ownership or group
identity. These were more than decorations: they were contracts,
embedding trust into objects and exchange.
Sahul Migration (65–50 ka): The Leap Beyond Sight
Reaching Australia and New Guinea required open-sea voyages of tens of
kilometers. No instinct drives a species to launch into invisible horizons.
This was imagination operationalized into collective action. O’Connell &
Allen (2004):
“The colonization of Sahul marks one of the earliest examples of humans organizing at
scale to achieve a goal beyond immediate survival” (p. 599).
Chauvet Cave (~37 ka): Painted Myths
The walls of Chauvet Cave explode with life: lions, rhinos, horses in
motion. Painted with perspective and shading, these images tell stories
rather than depict objects. Jean Clottes (2003):
“These paintings are not mere representations. They are part of a symbolic universe. They
tell stories of power, danger, and perhaps of the unseen” (p. 72).
The deep, firelit chambers reveal a ritual setting — myth enacted in
pigment.
Aurignacian Europe (40–35 ka): Figurines and Flutes
The Löwenmensch (Lion-Man) figurine carved from mammoth ivory
(Conard, 2003) fuses human and animal into mythic imagination. Bird-bone
flutes (Higham et al., 2012) produced music in ceremonial contexts. This
was not isolated invention but an integrated symbolic ecosystem — myth,
art, and music reinforcing each other.