Inside the Neolithic Mind

[rrraven]

But why build stone circles or alignments at all? In a book published last year, Inside the Neolithic Mind (Thames and Hudson), David Lewis-Williams and David Pearce try to psychoanalyse the late stone age. They bring together archaeological evidence from the Middle East, western Europe and modern scientific studies of the chemistry of the brain. The results are sometimes far fetched but the book traces a convincing progression from cave art to stone circles.

I came across this in an article on France's new Stonehenge: Secrets of a neolithic time machine
www.independent.co.uk

sounds like a interesting book it may give some insight why we became grain junkies

I will report back when I have got and read it

 

[Muxel]

Going by the reviews, this book talks about shamans using their shamanic experiences as artistic inspiration.

But like you I am a curious cat who wants to know how agriculture got in.

Here's my hypothesis. After the Atlantean cataclysm, time was temporarily reset and the Lizzies got busy promoting agriculture. Lead by Lizzie masters, the deranged peasant armies of Sumeria invaded Europe.

But why did the Circle People of Europe succumb? Here's some guesses.
[list type=decimal][*]The Circle People were outnumbered because agriculture caused overpopulation in the Sumerians.[*]The Circle People weren't unified into a brainwashed homogenous army.[*]The Circle People were already weakened and dispersed by the cataclysm.[*]The Circle People had better things to do than plan war.[*]The Circle People had already "left".[/list]

Have fun reading and let me know what you find! :)

 

[Approaching Infinity]

I've read this one (as well as his previous book, The Mind In the Cave). I've mentioned his research in a few posts here on the forum (should be able to find them using the search function and his name). I actually quite liked his books, except for the fact that he's a hardcore materialist and there's even some Marxism that leaks through his writing. But his ideas on the development of cave art and rock art are pretty interesting. Yes, he focuses on shamanism and shamanic states and worldviews, and their influence on the art in question. He makes a pretty good case, IMO.

 

[SeekinTruth]

Sound like an interesting book. But with so much to catch up on reading, I'll leave this one off the priority list for now. I look forward to anything you report back after reading it, rrraven. The subjects covered are highly interesting, for sure, though.

Going by the reviews, this book talks about shamans using their shamanic experiences as artistic inspiration.

But like you I am a curious cat who wants to know how agriculture got in.

Here's my hypothesis. After the Atlantean cataclysm, time was temporarily reset and the Lizzies got busy promoting agriculture. Lead by Lizzie masters, the deranged peasant armies of Sumeria invaded Europe.

But why did the Circle People of Europe succumb? Here's some guesses.
[list type=decimal][*]The Circle People were outnumbered because agriculture caused overpopulation in the Sumerians.[*]The Circle People weren't unified into a brainwashed homogenous army.[*]The Circle People were already weakened and dispersed by the cataclysm.[*]The Circle People had better things to do than plan war.[*]The Circle People had already "left".[/list]

Have fun reading and let me know what you find! :)

Probably some combination of all of the above, and more?

 

[whitecoast]

Going by the reviews, this book talks about shamans using their shamanic experiences as artistic inspiration.

But like you I am a curious cat who wants to know how agriculture got in.

Here's my hypothesis. After the Atlantean cataclysm, time was temporarily reset and the Lizzies got busy promoting agriculture. Lead by Lizzie masters, the deranged peasant armies of Sumeria invaded Europe.

But why did the Circle People of Europe succumb? Here's some guesses.
[list type=decimal][*]The Circle People were outnumbered because agriculture caused overpopulation in the Sumerians.[*]The Circle People weren't unified into a brainwashed homogenous army.[*]The Circle People were already weakened and dispersed by the cataclysm.[*]The Circle People had better things to do than plan war.[*]The Circle People had already "left".[/list]

Have fun reading and let me know what you find! :)

Here are great articles on SOTT about agriculture's origins:

www.sott.net/articles/show/144687-Origins-of-Agriculture-Did-Civilization-Arise-to-Deliver-a-Fix-

www.sott.net/articles/show/166089-Emergence-Of-Agriculture-In-Prehistory-Took-Much-Longer-Genetic-Evidence-Suggestsee

It appears that agriculture arose slowly, with domestic wheat stabilizing as a species over a period of 3000 years. The spread of agriculture mimics a pattern of human settlement, rather than conquest. People didn't adopt agriculture because it was beneficial genuinely; they adopted it because they married into a family that practiced it. And I guess that family had kind of a drug problem with exorphins. ^__^

From that point you get population booms that can't be supported by the local land base, the hedonistic times end when there is overshoot, and the population is ripe for ponerization to justify the conquest of other people and their resources. According to Lierre Keith, that is.