The Cradle of Humanity: Prehistoric Art and Culture

by Georges Bataille

The Cradle of Humanity: Prehistoric Art and Culture collects essays and lectures by Georges Bataille spanning thirty years of research in anthropology, comparative religion, aesthetics, and philosophy. These were neither idle nor idyllic years; the discovery of Lascaux in 1940 coincides with the bloodiest war in history -- with new machines of death, Auschwitz, and Hiroshima. Bataille's reflections on the possible origins of humanity coincide with the intensified threat of its possible extinction.



For Bataille, prehistory is universal history; it is the history of a human community before its fall into separation, into nations and races. The art of prehistory offers the earliest traces of nascent yet fully human consciousness -- of consciousness not yet fully separated from natural flora and fauna, or from the energetic forces of the universe. A play of identities, the art of prehistory is the art of a consciousness struggling against itself, of a human spirit struggling against brute animal physicality. Prehistory is the cradle of humanity, the birth of tragedy.

Bataille reaches beyond disciplinary specializations to imagine a moment when thought was universal. Bataille's work provides a model for interdisciplinary inquiry in our own day, a universal imagination and thought for our own potential community. The Cradle of Humanity speaks to philosophers and historians of thought, to anthropologists interested in the history of their discipline and in new methodologies, to theologians and religious comparatists interested in the origins and nature of man's encounter with the sacred, and to art historians and aestheticians grappling with the place of prehistory in the canons of art.

Genres: Philosophy, Art, Anthropology, History, Nonfiction, Essays, Art History

216 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2005

About the author

French essayist, philosophical theorist, and novelist, often called the "metaphysician of evil." Bataille was interested in sex, death, degradation, and the power and potential of the obscene. He rejected traditional literature and considered that the ultimate aim of all intellectual, artistic, or religious activity should be the annihilation of the rational individual in a violent, transcendental act of communion. Roland Barthes, Julia Kristeva, and Philippe Sollers have all written enthusiastically about his work.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's fairly incredible what Bataille reads into just a few cave paintings and sculptures from tens of thousands of years ago in terms of the earliest human conceptions of magic, the realm of the dead, and the animal-divine. Some might call it too much speculation based on too little evidence. I found it fascinating.

[Filipe Siqueira · Rating 5 out of 5]

O zine do grupo mais angustiado e fervilhante do início do século passado. Ideias, rascunhos de ideias e crítica, praticamente um blog moderno

[xDEAD ENDx · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's some okay stuff in here about pre-historic humans using the act of art (rather than the images that said art produced) for religious purpose and how we can read an inversion of the animal to human-god dynamic. But, when it comes down to it, most of what Bataille claims is just his conjecture, and it's sort of annoying to see sure sureness in his writing.

[Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure that I've read all the essays in this collection, although if you asked me to summarize each one based only on looking at the table of contents, I'm not sure I could do it. The earlier essays especially seem to run together in my mind.

That, however, is not in the least a knock against the book. Bataille is always worth reading, and the later essays (I'm thinking specifically of 'Prehistoric Religion' and 'The Cradle of Humanity') are worth the price of the book on their own. These essays obviously echo many of the themes and ideas developed in The Accursed Share, Theory of Religion and Eroticism. But they are not mere recaps - Bataille is too dynamic a thinker for that, and there are passages in the essays here so evocative that I had to stop reading for several minutes and let my mind wander about in the spaces they opened up.

I don't know anything about Prehistory (either as an academic subject or in general), so someone current in the field will no doubt enjoy this less than me. I can only say that I found it incredibly exciting, and sparked an interest in the Lascaux cave paintings that was not previously there.

My one caveat (and this is probably very unkind of me, but it seems important to be true to my feelings) is that I would not recommend reading the introduction by the editor, unless you like your introductions steeped in academic literary theory. I don't want to rant and rave against theory, but only suggest that Bataille may not be a theorist in the sense we have become accustomed to give that term. When Bataille says something like "all work is about waiting," the idea seems all the more profound for not having resorted to a common academic repertoire of technical terms. If, then, Bataille's writing is evocative on its own, do we really need to resort to this kind of technical language to make sense of it? The introduction, especially towards the end, feels more like a recruitment (as if to say, "see, he's one of us, he's a theorist, so feel free to quote this in your Comparative Literature Ph.D. dissertations") than a true introduction.

Apologies to the editors and translators of this fine volume, without whose hard work I could not have enjoyed these essays. Having given us this book, you are surely entitled to introduce it as you will.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had an interest in prehistoric art many years ago and have always wanted to read this book. I finally got it and I’m glad I did. Of course much of the information in here is outdated (evolution of humans and interpretations on prehistoric art), but it’s interesting to hear what Bataille’s theories were about the meaning of prehistoric art and culture.

What has stuck with me is what he says about our relationship with animals. Somehow we’ve come to view animals as “things” in the present day. Not worthy of much thought and respect. While we certainly have a level of appreciation for animals and nature, we ultimately view their lives and deaths as insignificant compared to our own.

[Andrew Russo]

Interesting- id like to read more bataille. Not so much his fault but i ended up getting a bit bored as every chapter basically says the same thing.

[Adde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Otrolig

Amazing

love of my life

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I encountered this book in a fortuitous spasm of serendipity after watching Herzog's documentary about Lascaux, so I had to pick it up. I disagree with some other comments that say this is not the best thing to read if you are coming to Bataille for the first time. While it doesn't give you the content of his thought, it certainly gives you the form. In these occasional essays, he approaches the same topics again and again, over a period of decades, and this gives you a sense of the rhythm of his mind. I wish I had read this before Erotism, The Accursed Share, or Literature and Evil.
Bataille benefits from having a very specific subject matter, with a very specific audience, and in these "occasional essays", many of which are lectures, he has both of these. They are not particularly enlightening if you are familiar with the fundamentals of prehistoric art, and so again I would emphasise their value not in terms of the content of what is communicated, but the contours of the mind that is attempting to communicate with us.

[Curtis Anthony Bozif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably not the best thing to read if you're just getting started with Bataille.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

a little dry at times, but once you get into it it's very thought-provoking.

[Josh Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful writing. Makes me want to watch Herzog's Cave of Forgotten Dreams again.
Really makes one consider whether we have forgotten the key to overcoming our fear of death.