Genesis of Symbolic Thought

by Alan Barnard

Symbolic thought is what makes us human. Claude Lévi-Strauss stated that we can never know the genesis of symbolic thought, but in this powerful new study Alan Barnard argues that we can. Continuing the line of analysis initiated in Social Anthropology and Human Origins (Cambridge University Press, 2011), The Genesis of Symbolic Thought applies ideas from social anthropology, old and new, to understand some of the areas also being explored in fields as diverse as archaeology, linguistics, genetics and neuroscience. Barnard aims to answer questions including: when and why did language come into being? What was the earliest religion? And what form did social organization take before humanity dispersed from the African continent? Rejecting the notion of hunter-gatherers as 'primitive', Barnard hails the great sophistication of the complex means of their linguistic and symbolic expression and places the possible origin of symbolic thought at as early as 130,000 years ago.

Genres: Anthropology

194 pages, Paperback

First published June 14, 2012

About the author

Alan Barnard is a world class communications strategist with a vast experience in devising and executing successful landmark campaigns. He made a major impact during his ten years working for the Labour Party and played a pivotal role in their 1997 general election victory. His work as Labour's Director of Campaigns and Elections helped change political campaigning in the United Kingdom. Now, as a founding Director of BBM Campaigns, he is taking campaigning into new territories.

Reviews

[Siri Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book in Alan Barnard's trilogy on the integration of social anthropology and palaeoanthropology in which he applies theory developed within the wider anthropological sciences to the human fossil record. I found this book to be considerably better argued than the first book, Social Anthropology and Human Origins, as I found the emphasis on the latter stages of human evolution to be a much better fit for social anthropological theory than the deeper periods of hominin history which Barnard focuses on in the first book. Social Anthropology and Human Origins, as I remember it, suffered from a mismatch between the level of complexity which social anthropological theory deals with and the level of evidence available to reconstruct early human history. This book, on the other hand, felt like a much more natural place for anthropological theory and human origins to come together, with its focus on the last half a million years or so ensuring that discussions of symbolism, kinship structures etc. are kept restricted to species and groups that we may reasonably assume were about as or almost as complex as humans are today. While I don't agree with every one of the author's arguments, I do feel as though this book is far more justified than the first installment and aims at filling a far more visible research gap. I'm excited to read the final book in the series, Language in Prehistory, which I should hopefully get around to in the near future.

[Aykut Karabay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yazar daha önceki kitabı Sosyal Antropoloji ve İnsanın Kökeni ‘nde insanın ve şempanzenin ortak atasından simgesel kültürün ilk günlerine kadar olan zamanı işlemişti. Bu kitap öbürünün bıraktığı yerden konuyu devralıyor. Daha yakın zamanların hikayesi ile tam insan olmanın anlamını ön plana çıkarıyor. En geniş anlamıyla insan modernliğinin doğuşundan bu yana manevi düşüncenin maddi dünyanın üzerine kurduğu hakimiyeti anlatıyor. İlk fosil kayıtlarından neolitik’e, homo sapiens e, simge, akıl, dil, din, insan topluluklarının ve kültürün kuruluşu ele alınıyor. İnsan öncesinden, davranışsal modernliğe İnsanlık tarihi boyunca Din, ritüel, akrabalık,sanat, simgesel düşüncenin doğuşu anlatılıyor. “Simge; yani bir nesneye gerçekte olduğundan farklı bir anlam yüklemek ve değer atfetmek ve bunun kültür içindeki yönlendirici ve kurucu etkisi” ele alınıyor. Neolitik öncesi Avcı toplayıcılarda tek tanrıcılığa kadar gelenekler ve inançlar simgelere, toplumsallığın evrimi, kozmolojik yapılarla ilişkileri bakımından akrabalık yapıları, dil, din-ritüel ile simgeciliğin bağlantıları anlatılıyor. İnsanlığın simgeciliği keşfettikten sonra dünyanın Engin alanlarına yayılışı anlatılıyor. Simgesel kültürden sonra insanlık tarihi daha manevi bir anlayışa geçiyor. Simgesel düşünce bir kez ortaya çıkınca dil, ritüel, sanat, inanç etkileniyor ve ardından tam bir dil gelişiyor. Mitoloji - karmaşık dili- karmaşık dil daha da karmaşıklaşan simgesel düşünceyi doğuruyor. Daha sonra bunlar modern bilimsel düşünce lehine son binlerce yıl içinde kayboluyor.

Sosyal antropoloji fikri atalarımızı rehber kabul ediyor ve simgesel düşüncenin doğuşu bu disiplini başka disiplinlerle daha görünür kılıp, birleşmelerini sağlıyor. Tarihöncesini inceleyen antropologlar alt yapı çalışmalarını yapan genetikçi, arkeolog, tarih gibi disiplinlerle sürekli etkileşim halindeler. Simgesel düşünce sadece arkeoloji alanına katkı sağlamakla kalmıyor; benzetme, karşılaştırma ve dilsel, kültürel evrensellerin önemini takdir ederek daha bütüncül bir bilim anlayışının oluşmasına katkı sunuyor.

[Elise Ravenclaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was not exactly what I expected, but I do find it useful for my research.
The author has a very specific explanation for the origin o symbolic thought, and he provides a large essay-like explanation for it, borrowing data from many disciplines. If you are thinking about reading it but are hesitant, I recommend you read chapter 8's summary to see if it sounds like something you would be interested in.

[Sanjay Prabhakar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure if it just all went over my head but I could hardly discern a single argument in 150 pages of musings.

[Dave Schey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Barnard is a social anthropologist and the book Genesis of Symbolic Thought reads like something written by a social anthropologist, especially when he talks about kinship. (Reminded me of some of the required reading I had while majoring in Anthropology 40+ years ago.) Some of it can get a bit dry, but I very much enjoyed his insights and explanations of the evolution of thought among our human ancestors. Much of this information cannot be known directly, but comes from paleo-archaeology and the study of modern hunter-gatherers such as the San/Bushman of the Kalahari and the Aboriginals of Australia. This, along with the archaeological artifacts found at Blombos Cave in Africa, the cave paintings of France and Spain, and various other sites, offer a good foundation upon which to speculate about the evolution of language, thought, ritual, myth, and religion.