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Inside the Neolithic Mind: Consciousness, Cosmos, and the Realm of the Gods
What do the headless figures found in the famous paintings at Catalhoyuk in Turkey have in common with the monumental tombs at Newgrange and Knowth in Ireland? How can the concepts of "birth," "death," and "wild" cast light on the archaeological enigma of the domestication of cattle? What generated the revolutionary social change that ended the Upper Palaeolithic?
David Lewis-Williams's previous book, The Mind in the Cave, dealt with the remarkable Upper Palaeolithic paintings, carvings, and engravings of western Europe. Here Dr. Lewis-Williams and David Pearce examine the intricate web of belief, myth, and society in the succeeding Neolithic period, arguably the most significant turning point in all human history, when agriculture became a way of life and the fractious society that we know today was born.
The authors focus on two contrasting times and places: the beginnings in the Near East, with its mud-brick and stone houses each piled on top of the ruins of another, and western Europe, with its massive stone monuments more ancient than the Egyptian pyramids.
They argue that neurological patterns hardwired into the brain help explain the art and society that Neolithic people produced. Drawing on the latest research, the authors skillfully link material on human consciousness, imagery, and religious concepts to propose provocative new theories about the causes of an ancient revolution in cosmology and the origins of social complexity. In doing so they create a fascinating neurological bridge to the mysterious thought-lives of the past and reveal the essence of a momentous period in human history. 100 illustrations, 20 in color.
David Lewis-Williams's previous book, The Mind in the Cave, dealt with the remarkable Upper Palaeolithic paintings, carvings, and engravings of western Europe. Here Dr. Lewis-Williams and David Pearce examine the intricate web of belief, myth, and society in the succeeding Neolithic period, arguably the most significant turning point in all human history, when agriculture became a way of life and the fractious society that we know today was born.
The authors focus on two contrasting times and places: the beginnings in the Near East, with its mud-brick and stone houses each piled on top of the ruins of another, and western Europe, with its massive stone monuments more ancient than the Egyptian pyramids.
They argue that neurological patterns hardwired into the brain help explain the art and society that Neolithic people produced. Drawing on the latest research, the authors skillfully link material on human consciousness, imagery, and religious concepts to propose provocative new theories about the causes of an ancient revolution in cosmology and the origins of social complexity. In doing so they create a fascinating neurological bridge to the mysterious thought-lives of the past and reveal the essence of a momentous period in human history. 100 illustrations, 20 in color.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2005
72 people are currently reading
1600 people want to read
About the author
James David Lewis-Williams
31 books68 followersLewis-Williams had been interested in archaeology in his youth.[2] When interviewed on 19 February 2014 in his office at the Rock Art Research Institute (RARI) at WITS, Lewis-Williams related that in the early days of apartheid, there were very few English-speaking archaeology teaching posts available. One was held by John Goodwin at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the other was held by Clarence Van Riet Lowe at WITS. These posts were in addition to several Afrikaans-speaking posts held at the University of Pretoria (UP)as well as a number of national museums. To major in archaeology was not an option for an undergraduate in South Africa at the time, and in 1952 Lewis-Williams enrolled for a BA at UCT majoring in English and Geography. After his graduation he taught English for twenty years, taking up a position at Selborne College and subsequently at Kearsney College. In the school holidays, Lewis-Williams was able to follow his passion for archaeology, organising field trips for the boys of Kearsney to explore the Drakensberg for rock art images. In 1964, while still teaching, he completed an Honours degree through the University of South Africa (UNISA) entitled Cove Rock: A study in coastal geomorphology. Several years later, Lewis-Williams met Professor John Argyle after giving a College Lecture in Pietermaritzburg. Argyle, who was professor of social anthropology at the University of Natal, suggested that Lewis-Williams do a master's degree under his supervision. Living comfortably in the grounds of Kearsney College, Lewis-Williams was not rushed to complete his master's. Eventually Argyle decided to pressure Lewis-Williams by upgrading his degree to a PhD which was finished in 1977 and published in 1981 as Believing and Seeing: Symbolic meanings in southern San rock paintings.
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March 26, 2025The study of the earliest history of mankind has made huge strides in recent decades. In the archaeological field, many new finds have been added and older finds have been reviewed, using the latest techniques. This has considerably broadened and sharpened our image of what is traditionally called prehistory. Two fields in particular have contributed to this: linguistics and paleo-genetics. But those areas don't help us when it comes to reconstructing the 'prehistoric mindset': how did prehistoric man view the world and how did that influence what he/she did? Since there were no written sources, this is of course an extremely difficult, if not impossible task. Some archaeologists therefore venture into the field of neurology and the cognitive sciences. A striking book in this regard is that of the British archaeologist Steven Mithen, The Prehistory of the Mind: A Search for the Origins of Art, Religion and Science (1996), in which he launches a very daring theory to explain why homo sapiens somewhere between 70.000 and 30,000 BCE took a huge cognitive step forward.
A few years earlier, the South African archaeologist David Lewis-Williams had already made an attempt in the same direction. He mainly appealed to neurology, and that is also what he builds on in this book. Lewis-Williams argues that human consciousness pre-eminently arises from the construction of the human brain and its neurological functioning. Archaeologists tend to place particular emphasis on environmental factors, with humans adapting to their environment, usually on a rational basis, so that cultures are the expression of ecological adaptation. But Lewis-Williams rejects that: “Complex human consciousness is not an 'optional extra' that archaeologists can ignore. The assumption that all human behavior can be accounted for on rational, ecological or adaptive grounds is unwarranted: extracting the means of daily material life from the environment is not always an entirely 'rational' matter.” Instead, he focuses on neurology, and in particular a model that was very popular in the 1980s, namely the 'three stages model'. This assumes that our consciousness, through its neurological wiring, sees the universe as layered, with a lower world in which we daily live and an upper world that rises above ordinary reality, and that can be reached through special rituals and actions (including hallucinatory means), like going through a kind of vortex, hence the 3 'stages'. In this book Lewis-Williams uses this model to interpret and explain the Neolithic archaeological finds from the Middle East and the megalithic monuments from Western Europe.
I have to say: every now and then his interpretations seem to make sense. For example, the stone constructions in Göbekli Tepe and Catal Hüyük in what is now Turkey and the megalithic structures in Western Europe indeed seem to be artificial imitations of caves, where people can make a kind of transition to another/upper world. And the anthropomorphic figures and spiral engravings do indeed suggest experiences of going-out-of-oneself. In any case, I share the authors' opinion that in explaining human behavior we should pay much more attention to what is considered to belong to the 'superstructure', the ideological/ideological ideas that shape a concrete human culture, and that manifest themselves both in behavior as well as in certain material elements. And of course, they belong to the sphere of the religious, but then understood in the very broad sense of the word, namely the images and experiences through which human reality is connected with a much broader natural and cosmological whole. Indeed, archeology cannot limit itself to the modern, Western view in which very strict divisions are made between the concrete and the material and the world of the supernatural, of spirits, ancestors, gods, and so on. In that sense, I completely follow Lewis-Williams and his colleague.
But what all this has to do with the neurological wiring of the brain still is a mystery to me. The authors attempt to substantiate their theory by presenting a basic set of human experiences suggesting a "self-ascent" and linking it to the "3 stages model" through a highly theoretical approach. This model is then used time and again to interpret the archaeological finds, showing a persistence that can only arouse skepticism. Moreover, Lewis-Williams and Pearce only in a very limited way succeed in explaining what the connection is with the transition to the Neolithic, to sedentarism and farming. Finally, it is striking that the constant reference to ethnographic examples of 20th century tribes almost all refer to hunter-gatherers, which is contradictory to their Neolithic focus. So, I have my doubts. I'm very fond of inventive thinking and even of the critical use of social science models, but in this book this is not done in a convincing way. Rating 2.5 stars.
A few years earlier, the South African archaeologist David Lewis-Williams had already made an attempt in the same direction. He mainly appealed to neurology, and that is also what he builds on in this book. Lewis-Williams argues that human consciousness pre-eminently arises from the construction of the human brain and its neurological functioning. Archaeologists tend to place particular emphasis on environmental factors, with humans adapting to their environment, usually on a rational basis, so that cultures are the expression of ecological adaptation. But Lewis-Williams rejects that: “Complex human consciousness is not an 'optional extra' that archaeologists can ignore. The assumption that all human behavior can be accounted for on rational, ecological or adaptive grounds is unwarranted: extracting the means of daily material life from the environment is not always an entirely 'rational' matter.” Instead, he focuses on neurology, and in particular a model that was very popular in the 1980s, namely the 'three stages model'. This assumes that our consciousness, through its neurological wiring, sees the universe as layered, with a lower world in which we daily live and an upper world that rises above ordinary reality, and that can be reached through special rituals and actions (including hallucinatory means), like going through a kind of vortex, hence the 3 'stages'. In this book Lewis-Williams uses this model to interpret and explain the Neolithic archaeological finds from the Middle East and the megalithic monuments from Western Europe.
I have to say: every now and then his interpretations seem to make sense. For example, the stone constructions in Göbekli Tepe and Catal Hüyük in what is now Turkey and the megalithic structures in Western Europe indeed seem to be artificial imitations of caves, where people can make a kind of transition to another/upper world. And the anthropomorphic figures and spiral engravings do indeed suggest experiences of going-out-of-oneself. In any case, I share the authors' opinion that in explaining human behavior we should pay much more attention to what is considered to belong to the 'superstructure', the ideological/ideological ideas that shape a concrete human culture, and that manifest themselves both in behavior as well as in certain material elements. And of course, they belong to the sphere of the religious, but then understood in the very broad sense of the word, namely the images and experiences through which human reality is connected with a much broader natural and cosmological whole. Indeed, archeology cannot limit itself to the modern, Western view in which very strict divisions are made between the concrete and the material and the world of the supernatural, of spirits, ancestors, gods, and so on. In that sense, I completely follow Lewis-Williams and his colleague.
But what all this has to do with the neurological wiring of the brain still is a mystery to me. The authors attempt to substantiate their theory by presenting a basic set of human experiences suggesting a "self-ascent" and linking it to the "3 stages model" through a highly theoretical approach. This model is then used time and again to interpret the archaeological finds, showing a persistence that can only arouse skepticism. Moreover, Lewis-Williams and Pearce only in a very limited way succeed in explaining what the connection is with the transition to the Neolithic, to sedentarism and farming. Finally, it is striking that the constant reference to ethnographic examples of 20th century tribes almost all refer to hunter-gatherers, which is contradictory to their Neolithic focus. So, I have my doubts. I'm very fond of inventive thinking and even of the critical use of social science models, but in this book this is not done in a convincing way. Rating 2.5 stars.
August 31, 2021
A very daring attempt to explain, frame and interpret what we now label as 'Neolithic art'. This does not regard the famous cave paintings from the south of France or Spain, because these date from a much earlier period (the Palaeolithic). Instead Lewis-Williams and Pearce zoom in on the art in the earliest towns and cities of the Neolithic Age, the period when man began to engage in agriculture, roughly 10,000 years ago in the Middle East, and about 8 to 5,000 years ago in Europe. More specifically, the authors focus on the plastered skulls and the anthropomorphic and geometric carvings in the Middle East and the megalithic structures in western Europe. They do this systematically using a very specific neurological model called the 'three stages theory'. This focuses on processes of ‘altered states of consciousness’, typical of (pseudo)religious rituals where dance, sound and hallucinatory substances are used, to get people into a state of trance. For Lewis-Williams, those experiences are the source of religious images and actions, and the entire book attempts to systematically view and explain the archaeological finds from that perspective.
Anyone interested in the archeology of the Middle East and Western Europe, from roughly 10,000 to 5,000 years ago, will certainly find what they are looking for in this book, with what seems a lot of new and detailed information. But the very theoretical approach, based on a neurological-cognitive model, often feels rather forced, especially because Lewis-Williams time and again tries to prove his point. I found this an interesting attempt to go beyond the limitations of the purely archaeological method, but at the same time a very speculative and still quite deterministic approach. More on that in my History account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
Anyone interested in the archeology of the Middle East and Western Europe, from roughly 10,000 to 5,000 years ago, will certainly find what they are looking for in this book, with what seems a lot of new and detailed information. But the very theoretical approach, based on a neurological-cognitive model, often feels rather forced, especially because Lewis-Williams time and again tries to prove his point. I found this an interesting attempt to go beyond the limitations of the purely archaeological method, but at the same time a very speculative and still quite deterministic approach. More on that in my History account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
November 23, 2008
Messrs. Lewis-Wallace and Pearce speculate on the most difficult aspect of archaeological explanation - a people's religious beliefs - in this book that takes a look at Neolithic art/architecture and its sources. Thankfully, unlike those who haunt shows like "Coast to Coast AM" or write books like Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization (Paperback) or construct New Age druidism, they don't claim to know what Neolithic faiths entailed but they do argue that common themes and symbols can be reconstructed based on both physical remains and (what is new) on neurological studies that reveal the common basis of human cognition.
They choose to focus on the opposite ends of the Neolithic period (both geographically and temporally). They explore the extraordinary megalithic complexes found at Catalhoyuk and elsewhere in the Middle East, built by pre- and/or very early agriculturists c. 10,000-8,000 BC, and burials and ritual sites of the European Atlantic seaboard, built c. 4,000-2,500 BC. The authors argue that common symbols and architectural features bespeak a common, human neurological origin.
One of the more startling and concept-shaking assertions Lewis-Wallace/Pearce make is that major changes in modes of thought preceded changes in subsistence. An example of this is their contention that domestication stemmed from religious motives. The traditional view holds that domestication proceeded from a need to increase production and security of food supplies. Yet, this is a view based on hindsight; how could early Neolithic hunters conceive, evaluate and carry out such a program? Animals were corralled and domesticated because they represented human control/influence over the environment and they ensured a steady supply of sacrifices. The more wide-reaching social and economic implications of herding grew out of and were capitalized upon by ruling elites but not purposed by them (explicitly stated, pp. 40-1, but implicit throughout their arguments).
In the first part of the book, the authors broadly define what they mean by "religion," and show the evidence for a common, neurological basis for religious experience and symbolism. As to "religion": They define it as three interacting dimensions. At its base is "experience," which leads to "belief" and "practice." Once established, the latter two dimensions act on experience, which further influences belief and practice in a never-ending dance. (Thus, Christians see Christ or a saint in visions while shamans see their totem animal, for example.)
Belief and practice are dependent on cultural milieux and change over time and space (the authors cite intriguing but speculative evidence for possible religious strife based on archaeological evidence). Experience, however, appears broadly similar. Visions common to altered states of consciousness or out-of-body experiences (OBEs) include:
- seeing bright, geometric patterns (spirals, vortices, dots) (see also pp. 261-2)
- floating/flying
- passage through something (tunnels, caves, birth canals)
- transformations (human to bird)
- ability to "see" hidden things or underlying patterns
(p. 45)
Agriculture and pottery were not so much the revolutionary aspects of the Neolithic Revolution as was the insight that humans could actively construct their cosmos. Paleo- and Mesolithic societies were passive participants in nature but "Neolithic people eliminated the variable labyrinth and replaced it with more predictable and simpler structures of their own design. In doing so they gained greater control over their cosmos and were able to `adjust' beliefs about it to suit social and personal needs" (p. 85) and "[t]herein lies the real, innovative essence of the Neolithic; expression of religious cosmological concepts in material structures as well as in myths, rather than the passive acceptance of natural phenomena (such as caves), opened up new ways of constructing an intrinsically dynamic society." (p. 167) Which, if true, would help explain the accelerated pace of technical and social change that characterizes sedentary/agricultural societies vs. hunter/gatherers. If you can conceive of building your cosmos, you can conceive a better blueprint. As evidence of this, they point out that the dwellings at Catalhoyuk imitate caves (pp. 103ff)
Lewis-Wallace/Pearce also introduce the idea of two forms of shamanism that can broadly characterize the difference between Paleo- and Neolithic faith:
1. Horizontal shamanism: characterized by an individualized religious experience, undeveloped beliefs and practices, and a more "democratic" outlook.
2. Vertical shamanism: characterized by hierarchy (priests) and defined knowledge based on belief and practice.
(pp. 86-7)
The cosmos conceived by the human brain is tiered - it moves from an underworld to our world to one above. Often, death is not the end of life but the beginning of another stage in life. Seers, shamans, however you name them, are intermediaries between worlds and hold both religious and political power in this world based on that relationship. The iconography and architecture of Neolithic complexes all reflect this and are evidence of a rich, sophisticated and probably contentious religious/political life whose details are lost (though that loss provides fodder for endless historical novels, happily).
The rest of the book is devoted by the authors to an admirable marshalling of the evidence. I'm not going to attempt to recapitulate that argument here; if you're interested in this topic, this is a must-read whether or not you're sympathetic to the authors' point of view. If you're not interested - why have you read this far?
No matter, I enjoyed reading this book. Lewis-Wallace/Pearce present a measured argument against accepting the impossibility of knowing how ancient humans perceived their universe, and offer plausible interpretations of that Weltanshauung (apologies: I get to use this word so little). I have far too many volumes on my To-Read and Wish lists as it is, but should I stumble upon their prequel about Paleolithic art and religion, The Mind in the Cave, I will not disdain to pick it up.
They choose to focus on the opposite ends of the Neolithic period (both geographically and temporally). They explore the extraordinary megalithic complexes found at Catalhoyuk and elsewhere in the Middle East, built by pre- and/or very early agriculturists c. 10,000-8,000 BC, and burials and ritual sites of the European Atlantic seaboard, built c. 4,000-2,500 BC. The authors argue that common symbols and architectural features bespeak a common, human neurological origin.
One of the more startling and concept-shaking assertions Lewis-Wallace/Pearce make is that major changes in modes of thought preceded changes in subsistence. An example of this is their contention that domestication stemmed from religious motives. The traditional view holds that domestication proceeded from a need to increase production and security of food supplies. Yet, this is a view based on hindsight; how could early Neolithic hunters conceive, evaluate and carry out such a program? Animals were corralled and domesticated because they represented human control/influence over the environment and they ensured a steady supply of sacrifices. The more wide-reaching social and economic implications of herding grew out of and were capitalized upon by ruling elites but not purposed by them (explicitly stated, pp. 40-1, but implicit throughout their arguments).
In the first part of the book, the authors broadly define what they mean by "religion," and show the evidence for a common, neurological basis for religious experience and symbolism. As to "religion": They define it as three interacting dimensions. At its base is "experience," which leads to "belief" and "practice." Once established, the latter two dimensions act on experience, which further influences belief and practice in a never-ending dance. (Thus, Christians see Christ or a saint in visions while shamans see their totem animal, for example.)
Belief and practice are dependent on cultural milieux and change over time and space (the authors cite intriguing but speculative evidence for possible religious strife based on archaeological evidence). Experience, however, appears broadly similar. Visions common to altered states of consciousness or out-of-body experiences (OBEs) include:
- seeing bright, geometric patterns (spirals, vortices, dots) (see also pp. 261-2)
- floating/flying
- passage through something (tunnels, caves, birth canals)
- transformations (human to bird)
- ability to "see" hidden things or underlying patterns
(p. 45)
Agriculture and pottery were not so much the revolutionary aspects of the Neolithic Revolution as was the insight that humans could actively construct their cosmos. Paleo- and Mesolithic societies were passive participants in nature but "Neolithic people eliminated the variable labyrinth and replaced it with more predictable and simpler structures of their own design. In doing so they gained greater control over their cosmos and were able to `adjust' beliefs about it to suit social and personal needs" (p. 85) and "[t]herein lies the real, innovative essence of the Neolithic; expression of religious cosmological concepts in material structures as well as in myths, rather than the passive acceptance of natural phenomena (such as caves), opened up new ways of constructing an intrinsically dynamic society." (p. 167) Which, if true, would help explain the accelerated pace of technical and social change that characterizes sedentary/agricultural societies vs. hunter/gatherers. If you can conceive of building your cosmos, you can conceive a better blueprint. As evidence of this, they point out that the dwellings at Catalhoyuk imitate caves (pp. 103ff)
Lewis-Wallace/Pearce also introduce the idea of two forms of shamanism that can broadly characterize the difference between Paleo- and Neolithic faith:
1. Horizontal shamanism: characterized by an individualized religious experience, undeveloped beliefs and practices, and a more "democratic" outlook.
2. Vertical shamanism: characterized by hierarchy (priests) and defined knowledge based on belief and practice.
(pp. 86-7)
The cosmos conceived by the human brain is tiered - it moves from an underworld to our world to one above. Often, death is not the end of life but the beginning of another stage in life. Seers, shamans, however you name them, are intermediaries between worlds and hold both religious and political power in this world based on that relationship. The iconography and architecture of Neolithic complexes all reflect this and are evidence of a rich, sophisticated and probably contentious religious/political life whose details are lost (though that loss provides fodder for endless historical novels, happily).
The rest of the book is devoted by the authors to an admirable marshalling of the evidence. I'm not going to attempt to recapitulate that argument here; if you're interested in this topic, this is a must-read whether or not you're sympathetic to the authors' point of view. If you're not interested - why have you read this far?
No matter, I enjoyed reading this book. Lewis-Wallace/Pearce present a measured argument against accepting the impossibility of knowing how ancient humans perceived their universe, and offer plausible interpretations of that Weltanshauung (apologies: I get to use this word so little). I have far too many volumes on my To-Read and Wish lists as it is, but should I stumble upon their prequel about Paleolithic art and religion, The Mind in the Cave, I will not disdain to pick it up.
September 15, 2019
The first third of the book stayed fresh, and the premise was new and interesting, and the details of the Mesopotamian archaeological sites were detailed and engrossing. However, once the authors shifted to descriptions of the Celtic Neolithic structures in England, Brittany, Wales, and Ireland, there was a repetitiveness to the presentation of details and explication of the books' premise about the Neolithic mind's predisposition to generate a cosmology that encompassed a multi-tiered reality to which dream matter pertained.
There was a good deal of seeming science in a discussion about how the Neolithic mind was neurologically this and that, and it just sounded wrong. How can anyone really know? Essentially, Neolithic minds were similar to present-day minds, and it was only inexperience and ignorance (from a contemporary point of view) that lent more significance to the hallucinatory dream stuff that they perceived as being wholly a part of the tangible world in which they existed. This developed into a dream/vision-encompassing multi-tiered cosmology (normally in a vertical, ladder-like fashion), and it came to dominate Neolithic societies (a consciousness contract). Those with access to the higher dream states of reality assumed positions of power, and eventually this began to metastasize into a religious hierarchy. While such societal structures were alluded to and somewhat speculated about, there was no real evidence offered or examples given.
The authors solidly present, time after time, evidence of structures representing the underlying schema of cosmological thought, but it grew wearisome in the final chapters to hear how this and that stone arrangement must have meant this or that.
The Neolithic revolution, which occurred in a period 10,000 to 5,000 years ago, saw man shifting from migratory hunting and gathering groups into larger and more solidly settled, animal-using, agrarian societies. At the near end of that period, 5,000 years ago, man is on the verge of the societies that became the basis of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian empires that dominated the near east 3,500 years ago. From foragers, to farmers, to conquering empires. I'm not sure the authors did little more than explain a single aspect of this evolution, and it was inevitably frustrating to see that so much of the book was about proving over and over this single point.
There was a good deal of seeming science in a discussion about how the Neolithic mind was neurologically this and that, and it just sounded wrong. How can anyone really know? Essentially, Neolithic minds were similar to present-day minds, and it was only inexperience and ignorance (from a contemporary point of view) that lent more significance to the hallucinatory dream stuff that they perceived as being wholly a part of the tangible world in which they existed. This developed into a dream/vision-encompassing multi-tiered cosmology (normally in a vertical, ladder-like fashion), and it came to dominate Neolithic societies (a consciousness contract). Those with access to the higher dream states of reality assumed positions of power, and eventually this began to metastasize into a religious hierarchy. While such societal structures were alluded to and somewhat speculated about, there was no real evidence offered or examples given.
The authors solidly present, time after time, evidence of structures representing the underlying schema of cosmological thought, but it grew wearisome in the final chapters to hear how this and that stone arrangement must have meant this or that.
The Neolithic revolution, which occurred in a period 10,000 to 5,000 years ago, saw man shifting from migratory hunting and gathering groups into larger and more solidly settled, animal-using, agrarian societies. At the near end of that period, 5,000 years ago, man is on the verge of the societies that became the basis of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian empires that dominated the near east 3,500 years ago. From foragers, to farmers, to conquering empires. I'm not sure the authors did little more than explain a single aspect of this evolution, and it was inevitably frustrating to see that so much of the book was about proving over and over this single point.
November 8, 2018
I’m extremely disappointed with this book. It’s certainly not so for the lack of material included in it: there’s plenty of interesting stuff about excavations from all around the world. But in the introduction the Authors promise a wholly new approach, a marriage of neuroscience and anthropology, a new methodology according to which archaeological findings are only mentioned to illustrate (and not stand as proofs of) certain behaviours of the human brain. The promises were clearly too big to be kept. The Authors discuss a lot of material, but their methodology is very traditional. The only new thing added is an unsubstantiated claim that such and such behaviours are caused by the wiring of human brains. There is no neuroscience expertise presented whatsoever. What a sham!
November 2018 update:
I've come across another book by this author, 'The mind in the cave' published in 2002. I did not read the whole thing, but I leafed through it and decided that it looked much better than 'Inside the Neolithic mind'. There's much more clearly presented data and much less bulshitting, though, unfortunately, the book is a bit dated as it is missing a lot of information available today from DNA research and, as a result, it makes a number of assumptions that have since been proved false. It is a pity that I hadn't come across this title first - it would have saved me much disappointment!
November 2018 update:
I've come across another book by this author, 'The mind in the cave' published in 2002. I did not read the whole thing, but I leafed through it and decided that it looked much better than 'Inside the Neolithic mind'. There's much more clearly presented data and much less bulshitting, though, unfortunately, the book is a bit dated as it is missing a lot of information available today from DNA research and, as a result, it makes a number of assumptions that have since been proved false. It is a pity that I hadn't come across this title first - it would have saved me much disappointment!
April 23, 2020
A hard turd forced out by two vein-faced bigots. One straining, the other pressing down on his gut. It purports to apply the findings of neuroscience to the archaeological remains of the Neolithic. In reality it claims religion to be the result of hallucinations and they propose in it’s place a religion of their own devising called Science. The book is marred by boasting, pride and arrogance. They make grandiose claims about how their thinking is much better than anyone else’s. Yet their reasoning is fundamentally flawed.
Take pages 78-9. They criticise the ‘functionalist’ explanation of ritual pig slaughter in Pacific societies, that it is to regulate the pig population. They call this a tautology and descriptive rather than explanatory: “The function of x is to do what it does”. They claim to be breaking out of the tautology by explaining that serial burials in the Near East were done to help the dead. Can’t they see that their explanation is just as functional? Their problem is that in their materialistic conception of the world slaughtering pigs controls their numbers, but the dead don’t need to be helped. If you think the dead need to be helped then doing something for them is just as functional. They say that helping the dead was done for mythological reasons. Maybe they had myths about how the dead would come back and get them if they weren’t serially buried. Maybe the Pacific societies had stories about what the pigs would do if there were too many of them. The problem is that the authors’ religious beliefs are intruding into the argument. They believe that too many pigs is a problem but they’re not afraid of ghosts.
Look, I believe in the Big Bang. I believe that it’s an event that has actually happened. I could tell you a story about how it happened. That story would be a myth, an attempt to explain in narrative some fundamental truth about the universe that explains the way it is. I could tell you the same story using a more precise language like mathematics. It would still be a myth. Just because it’s a myth doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
How can two people lacking even a basic self awareness hope to start their own religion? Or are they aware that their arguments are faulty? Do they have so little respect for the reader that they think we won’t notice? Is this a scam?
I’m particularly angry because the book claims to be about the Neolithic. I wanted to read a book about that. If I’d wanted the nasty views of two horrible bigots I’d have logged on to Twitter.
Take pages 78-9. They criticise the ‘functionalist’ explanation of ritual pig slaughter in Pacific societies, that it is to regulate the pig population. They call this a tautology and descriptive rather than explanatory: “The function of x is to do what it does”. They claim to be breaking out of the tautology by explaining that serial burials in the Near East were done to help the dead. Can’t they see that their explanation is just as functional? Their problem is that in their materialistic conception of the world slaughtering pigs controls their numbers, but the dead don’t need to be helped. If you think the dead need to be helped then doing something for them is just as functional. They say that helping the dead was done for mythological reasons. Maybe they had myths about how the dead would come back and get them if they weren’t serially buried. Maybe the Pacific societies had stories about what the pigs would do if there were too many of them. The problem is that the authors’ religious beliefs are intruding into the argument. They believe that too many pigs is a problem but they’re not afraid of ghosts.
Look, I believe in the Big Bang. I believe that it’s an event that has actually happened. I could tell you a story about how it happened. That story would be a myth, an attempt to explain in narrative some fundamental truth about the universe that explains the way it is. I could tell you the same story using a more precise language like mathematics. It would still be a myth. Just because it’s a myth doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
How can two people lacking even a basic self awareness hope to start their own religion? Or are they aware that their arguments are faulty? Do they have so little respect for the reader that they think we won’t notice? Is this a scam?
I’m particularly angry because the book claims to be about the Neolithic. I wanted to read a book about that. If I’d wanted the nasty views of two horrible bigots I’d have logged on to Twitter.
September 28, 2008
Beautifully written, very knowledgeable, good illustrations and photographs, but some of the interpretations - though not all - just do not seem plausible at all to me.
The authors present their theory for the emergence of agriculture and animal domestication and discuss the earlier Neolithic periods of the Near East as well as the Neolithic megalithic monuments of northwestern Europe that were constructed millennia later and where agriculture had arrived as a 'ready-made package'. Lewis-Williams' "neuropsychological model" is transported from the Upper Paleolithic (see "Shamans of Prehistory") to the Neolithic, which is inasmuch justified by the authors as there is an " interaction between neurologically generated universals and cultural specifics".
Thus altered states of consciousness form once again the center piece of the book, but now it is their manipulation and exploitation by an emerging elite for their own aggrandizement.
it would take several pages to outline all my objections, therefore I refrain.
The authors present their theory for the emergence of agriculture and animal domestication and discuss the earlier Neolithic periods of the Near East as well as the Neolithic megalithic monuments of northwestern Europe that were constructed millennia later and where agriculture had arrived as a 'ready-made package'. Lewis-Williams' "neuropsychological model" is transported from the Upper Paleolithic (see "Shamans of Prehistory") to the Neolithic, which is inasmuch justified by the authors as there is an " interaction between neurologically generated universals and cultural specifics".
Thus altered states of consciousness form once again the center piece of the book, but now it is their manipulation and exploitation by an emerging elite for their own aggrandizement.
it would take several pages to outline all my objections, therefore I refrain.
February 28, 2016
This was not the correct book for me. There was the most passing reference to something possibly neurological, and then the rest of the book, having taken this supposition as given, just extrapolated wildly. I don't have the archaeological background to know how safe it is to interpret the evidence as they did, and even so, I'm not sure exactly what I gained from following along with their arguments. There were a few interesting points here and there: one of the larger theses was that claiming that people began a practice because of its benefits is a bit backwards, since they didn't know the benefits until they tried it. I'm not sure how to evaluate how well humans would have been able to predict possible benefits of a practice, but judging by humans today, I'd buy it. However, they then went on to scarcely ever mention that thesis and spent most of their time on other, less interesting or compelling things.
February 2, 2013
This book is an attempt to explain some aspects of Neolithic religious ideas and practice which are suspected to have arisen from experience with altered states of mind. The authors' approach based on neurophysiology and comparisons with more recent shamanistic societies is interesting, but their explanations often seem too far-stretched and pushed.
July 27, 2018
I actually agree with the premise that religious consciousness came before civilization. I think, as is pointed out admirably here, that there is now a lot of evidence in favor. But the book seems to me to be as much a handbook for the positivist, materialist viewpoint of the world as anything else. The author, who in several places expresses sympathy with Marx, takes it as a given that the material world is all that there is, that religion, while given credit for spurring civilization on, is in the end responsible for class distinctions, etc. He ends the book asking (and hoping it is so) if we can ever have a religion that precludes any idea of the supernatural. It seems to me that the author takes some true things, some things that are very likely true, and then projects his own belief system onto it.
An equally likely scenario than the one that the author lays out is that there is more to the world than we see. The idea of a God who slowly guides and enlightens humanity, culminating in the Christ (the first true human being - i.e. it is finished being the act of creation of man) is to me almost certainly true. And that process of guiding and enlightening, of forming an understanding and growth in relationship with God by whatever means fits in with the facts just as well as people being sacks of meat hardwired to think a certain way. Certainly scripture says that the law of God is written in man's heart. Indeed.
Don't get me wrong - the book is excellently researched and has some positive gems in there. It's like digging up buried treasure. If you brush it off and clean it up, there's a lot to be had here.
An equally likely scenario than the one that the author lays out is that there is more to the world than we see. The idea of a God who slowly guides and enlightens humanity, culminating in the Christ (the first true human being - i.e. it is finished being the act of creation of man) is to me almost certainly true. And that process of guiding and enlightening, of forming an understanding and growth in relationship with God by whatever means fits in with the facts just as well as people being sacks of meat hardwired to think a certain way. Certainly scripture says that the law of God is written in man's heart. Indeed.
Don't get me wrong - the book is excellently researched and has some positive gems in there. It's like digging up buried treasure. If you brush it off and clean it up, there's a lot to be had here.
June 11, 2023
Wat bindt ons aan de mensen van het Neolithicum? Dat is o.a. het feit dat we, meestal, de nood voelen om met grote of kleine rituelen afscheid te nemen van gestorven geliefden. Herinner u maar het leed van velen toen er tijdens de Coronacrisis geen mogelijkheid tot afscheid was en wat een gevoel van leegte, van een niet-afgesloten hoofdstuk, dit achterliet.
Zo-ook dus in het Neolithicum.
In dit boek proberen de 2 auteurs, professoren, de rituelen uit het Neolithicum te achterhalen, en dit door hun kunst, hun bouwwerken, ... te bestuderen. Denk hierbij bvb aan Avebury, Skara Brae (Orkney), Gravinis (Bretagne), Göbekli Tepe (Turkije) - die dingen staan er niet zomaar, maar zijn een weergave van wat zij zien als de "andere wereld", hun kosmos.
En die studie leidt naar een zeer interessant boek waarbij inhoud wordt gegeven aan wat voor ons grafheuvels, stenen ringen enz zijn. Welk symbool staat waar en voor wat? Waarom staat een deur daar, of een pilaar ginds, waar worden de eventuele menselijke resten bewaard en waarom, en hoe evolueert dit over de tijd, enz.
Mijn hoofd is werkelijk VEEL te klein om dit alles te bevatten en te onthouden.
Wat me ook zeer opviel is dat sommige dingen nu nog hetzelfde zijn. Wij hebben hetzelfde brein als onze verre voorvaderen. Ondanks dat de wereld totaal veranderd is, is er ook nog zoveel hetzelfde: de cycli van het leven, de manier waarop we dromen, het zeldzame gevoel van totaal één te zijn met de wereld. En dat stelt me op één of andere vreemde manier, gerust.
"The past is indeed another country. No one doubts that people did things differently there. But they were, in large measure, the same things. People were born, they laboured, procreated, died and their bodies became the focus of ritual attention - even as they do today in simple interments or elaborate state funerals.
Always we see the past through a glass, darkly. But the images we see in the glass are hauntingly familiar as well as different from what we know and experience today."
Zo-ook dus in het Neolithicum.
In dit boek proberen de 2 auteurs, professoren, de rituelen uit het Neolithicum te achterhalen, en dit door hun kunst, hun bouwwerken, ... te bestuderen. Denk hierbij bvb aan Avebury, Skara Brae (Orkney), Gravinis (Bretagne), Göbekli Tepe (Turkije) - die dingen staan er niet zomaar, maar zijn een weergave van wat zij zien als de "andere wereld", hun kosmos.
En die studie leidt naar een zeer interessant boek waarbij inhoud wordt gegeven aan wat voor ons grafheuvels, stenen ringen enz zijn. Welk symbool staat waar en voor wat? Waarom staat een deur daar, of een pilaar ginds, waar worden de eventuele menselijke resten bewaard en waarom, en hoe evolueert dit over de tijd, enz.
Mijn hoofd is werkelijk VEEL te klein om dit alles te bevatten en te onthouden.
Wat me ook zeer opviel is dat sommige dingen nu nog hetzelfde zijn. Wij hebben hetzelfde brein als onze verre voorvaderen. Ondanks dat de wereld totaal veranderd is, is er ook nog zoveel hetzelfde: de cycli van het leven, de manier waarop we dromen, het zeldzame gevoel van totaal één te zijn met de wereld. En dat stelt me op één of andere vreemde manier, gerust.
"The past is indeed another country. No one doubts that people did things differently there. But they were, in large measure, the same things. People were born, they laboured, procreated, died and their bodies became the focus of ritual attention - even as they do today in simple interments or elaborate state funerals.
Always we see the past through a glass, darkly. But the images we see in the glass are hauntingly familiar as well as different from what we know and experience today."
December 18, 2023
When you visit an ancient archaeological site, it is seductive to speculate what these people might have felt and how they might have understood the world. We can examine how their buildings were constructed, how they decorated their homes by excavating the art, and what they ate ascertained from the bone deposits. But of their minds, there are only tantalizing inferences from these material remains. Lewis Willliams and Pearce advance a controversial archaeological thesis: namely, that there are elements of ecstatic religious experience “hard-wired” into the human brain and, hence, that these are universal.
They propose a three-stage model of such experiences. In step 1, the shaman enters a trance state (induced by drugs or activities such as dancing) leading to visual disturbances, typically including gratings, cobwebs and spirals. In step 2, the shaman attempts to interpret these as culturally relevant, typically including the interpretation of spirals and vortices as tunnels leading to another realm. Step 3 involves full-blown hallucinations in which memories are activated and which involve human-animal hybrids. On the basis of these experiences, a cosmology arises, also involving three tiers (which, notably, are not derived by causal analysis from the claimed sensory stages but rather are asserted): the realm of the dead ancestors, the realm of everyday life, and the realm of the spirits. These three tiers are memorialized, they claim, in the structures of monuments and the design of houses
From this, they want to argue that the Neolithic Revolution some 10,000 years ago, in which plants and animals were first domesticated, was driven by the need to provision large numbers taking part in religious rituals at sites like Gobleke Tepe in Turkey or Stonehenge in the UK. They contrast this with conventional explanations in which the abandonment of hunter-gathering and the turn to agriculture was driven by material forces such as climate change or population growth.
Chapter 1 reveals their method. The elements of their theses appear as quick assertions in a summary of the archaeological summary. Here is an example: “The good quality of Karacadag grain may [emphasis added] have led some workers returning home to take some with them to sow in their own gardens.” Since these asides are brief, the reader shows forbearance, taking them to be a summary of what will be demonstrated with evidence later. But, of course, through a “persistence of vision” conjuring trick. when the demonstration comes, the reader is already primed to accept them.
Let’s take a closer look at a chapter to dissect how this illusion is achieved. Chapter 2 deals with the claim of a universal brain wiring that creates common altered states of consciousness. Altered states of consciousness are described (and the three stage model introduced) but no neurobiological evidence is introduced to support the claim. The whole edifice rests on a foundation of eight testimonies of altered mental states. This framework is then used to interpret a range of highly selected archaeological and ethnological data as confirmation. The book segues from the Near Eastern to the West European Neolithic, without troubling to pass through the Eastern and Central European archaeological record.
The model failed to convince me. Nevertheless, more despite than because of their model, there are interesting possible insights into Neolithic cultures. I found the three-tiered cosmology fitted plausibly with the architecture of the nine thousand year old settlement of Çatalhöyük in Turkey. Here people lived in dimly lit houses, buried their dead in an underworld below the floor, and emerged up ladders to the roof entrance and the skyworld. I also found their argument that some adepts can ”merge” with animal spirits consistent with evidence from that civilisation’s art.
They propose a three-stage model of such experiences. In step 1, the shaman enters a trance state (induced by drugs or activities such as dancing) leading to visual disturbances, typically including gratings, cobwebs and spirals. In step 2, the shaman attempts to interpret these as culturally relevant, typically including the interpretation of spirals and vortices as tunnels leading to another realm. Step 3 involves full-blown hallucinations in which memories are activated and which involve human-animal hybrids. On the basis of these experiences, a cosmology arises, also involving three tiers (which, notably, are not derived by causal analysis from the claimed sensory stages but rather are asserted): the realm of the dead ancestors, the realm of everyday life, and the realm of the spirits. These three tiers are memorialized, they claim, in the structures of monuments and the design of houses
From this, they want to argue that the Neolithic Revolution some 10,000 years ago, in which plants and animals were first domesticated, was driven by the need to provision large numbers taking part in religious rituals at sites like Gobleke Tepe in Turkey or Stonehenge in the UK. They contrast this with conventional explanations in which the abandonment of hunter-gathering and the turn to agriculture was driven by material forces such as climate change or population growth.
Chapter 1 reveals their method. The elements of their theses appear as quick assertions in a summary of the archaeological summary. Here is an example: “The good quality of Karacadag grain may [emphasis added] have led some workers returning home to take some with them to sow in their own gardens.” Since these asides are brief, the reader shows forbearance, taking them to be a summary of what will be demonstrated with evidence later. But, of course, through a “persistence of vision” conjuring trick. when the demonstration comes, the reader is already primed to accept them.
Let’s take a closer look at a chapter to dissect how this illusion is achieved. Chapter 2 deals with the claim of a universal brain wiring that creates common altered states of consciousness. Altered states of consciousness are described (and the three stage model introduced) but no neurobiological evidence is introduced to support the claim. The whole edifice rests on a foundation of eight testimonies of altered mental states. This framework is then used to interpret a range of highly selected archaeological and ethnological data as confirmation. The book segues from the Near Eastern to the West European Neolithic, without troubling to pass through the Eastern and Central European archaeological record.
The model failed to convince me. Nevertheless, more despite than because of their model, there are interesting possible insights into Neolithic cultures. I found the three-tiered cosmology fitted plausibly with the architecture of the nine thousand year old settlement of Çatalhöyük in Turkey. Here people lived in dimly lit houses, buried their dead in an underworld below the floor, and emerged up ladders to the roof entrance and the skyworld. I also found their argument that some adepts can ”merge” with animal spirits consistent with evidence from that civilisation’s art.
June 8, 2020
"Inside the Neolithic Mind" postulates much the same theory for Neolithic art as "The Mind in the Cave" did for paleolithic art. But while I found "The Mind in the Cave" very convincing, albeit as a general explanation rather than as an explanation of specifics, I found "Inside the Neolithic Mind" a bit lacking. I don't necessarily disagree with the authors, in fact I find their arguments quite compelling, but it seems to me that they aim to explain specifics rather than general meaning even though their theory isn't, in my opinion, suited for that. What I mean is, the theory put forward in this book and "The Mind in the Cave" is a general theory: it provides a possible framework within which the specifics of different places and cultures can be explored. It does not explain the specific religions, it is a theory concerning what type of religion might have been practiced. In "The Mind in the Cave", Lewis-Williams acknowledges this: he doesn't attempt to explain what paleolithic people might have believed in, only what kind of religion they might have had and what kind of religious experiences they might have had. In "Inside the Neolithic Mind", it seems to me that there is a higher focus on explaining the exact meanings of specific Neolithic features. What was the meaning behind a long barrow? What did the iconography of Çatalhöyük mean? In my opinion, this strays too far into conjecture. I do not have a problem with trying to reconstruct the kind of religion and the kind of religious experience of the Neolithic, but I think I personally would draw the line at the actual religious ideas. I also think more emphasis on differences between cultures would be nice. Çatalhöyük and the Northern European long barrows are significantly removed in both time and space and it would have been good to emphasise that the two places are (most likely) not connected to the same religious beliefs. However, as I have said, I do find the theory compelling as a general theory and I do find many of the arguments very convincing. So I would recommend this book mainly to archaeologists and others knowledgeable enough about the Neolithic and about how to "do" prehistoric religions to be able to recognise what is reasonable conjectures and what is a bit far-fetched.
April 28, 2013
This is a VERY important book foundational book for anyone who is interested in human history, society, or religion. Note that this is a SCIENCE book. It teaches you, for example, that all religion is composed of 3 parts: ritual, doctrine, and personal religious experience. And any particular religion emphasizes 1 of the 3 over the others. So, for example, Roman religion was almost ENTIRELY about Ritual and every Roman civil activity was in fact a religious Ritual.
Additionally, everyone used to know that the universe is composed of 3 parts: the underworld, the surface, and the heavens. And every village used to have The Tree of Life, which is the Center of the Universe. The Tree of Life connects the 3 worlds, and there is no perception of logical contradiction that EVER village has a tree that is the center of the universe.
Etc., etc., etc.
I don't believe it's possible to understand any discussion of Religion or pre-modern society without reading this book.
Additionally, everyone used to know that the universe is composed of 3 parts: the underworld, the surface, and the heavens. And every village used to have The Tree of Life, which is the Center of the Universe. The Tree of Life connects the 3 worlds, and there is no perception of logical contradiction that EVER village has a tree that is the center of the universe.
Etc., etc., etc.
I don't believe it's possible to understand any discussion of Religion or pre-modern society without reading this book.
March 23, 2021
His ideas seems to be near the mainstream, or at least not always greeted with eye-rolling, unlike Julian Jaynes' in "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind," but the books had a similar effect on me (100% layman). Completely fascinating and weird.
June 27, 2013
Very informative book. I could not put this book down. Every page you will learn something.
September 25, 2025
This is the book I have been waiting for. Finally, an explanation of stone circles and cave art that makes sense. I’ve heard explanations from stupid to stupider. The red handprints were people planting their mark ‘I wuz ‘ere’ or letting their kids muck around with the paint while they drew bison.
No, this book says, they were representations of early humans’ spiritual experience, attempts to portray altered states of consciousness and get closer to god. That’s why the horses seem to be floating in air; they were paintings of the horse’s spirit animal. That’s why the bison are sometimes left half finished, as if they’re crawling out of the wall; the wall was seen as a membrane into the spirit world.
This ‘neuropsychological model’ explains the ubiquity of designs—spirals, lozenges, zigzags, cups and rings. It could be that the descendants of Palaeolithic artists in France migrated into Britain, learning megalithic architecture and artistic norms from their ancestors. Or the artists were painting or carving from a similar experience as that of their forebears, one that is hardwired into homo sapiens’ brains, sometimes aided by hallucinogens or other means of altering consciousness. In fact, subjects in altered states of consciousness under laboratory conditions have produced similar images. Or it could be, I think, a bit of both.
This explains the abstractness, the mishmash of images, why there is no overall composition. They weren’t creating an artwork to be viewed; they were depicting an experience. Much of this is in places too inaccessible for the whole midwinter solstice crowd, deep inside dark passage tombs; it would have been the purview of the shaman or seer.
It follows an idealistic analysis, proposing that religious ideas preceded the material realities and social relations they expressed. Clearly, humans had religion before they developed agriculture, as Göbekli Tepe shows. Aurochs (wild bulls) were important in Neolithic religion before the domestication of cattle. But I think any argument that ideas precede realities is illogical (and unMarxist). But that is my only criticism.
It does not examine astroarchaeology (the alignments of stone circles toward solstices), but that is not a criticism. Other books do that. In the light of this analysis, however, I have revised my view of stone circles as ‘calendars’. Their import was probably more religious than as date predictors. The purpose was more to convey the consistency of the cosmos and to symbolise the stability provided by the rule of the religious elite—as above, so below.
The book analyses in detail major Neolithic sites in the Near East and British Isles. With B/W drawings and colour photos.
Richly scholarly, densely footnoted. It explains complex philosophical concepts quite cogently (though with some big words).
No, this book says, they were representations of early humans’ spiritual experience, attempts to portray altered states of consciousness and get closer to god. That’s why the horses seem to be floating in air; they were paintings of the horse’s spirit animal. That’s why the bison are sometimes left half finished, as if they’re crawling out of the wall; the wall was seen as a membrane into the spirit world.
This ‘neuropsychological model’ explains the ubiquity of designs—spirals, lozenges, zigzags, cups and rings. It could be that the descendants of Palaeolithic artists in France migrated into Britain, learning megalithic architecture and artistic norms from their ancestors. Or the artists were painting or carving from a similar experience as that of their forebears, one that is hardwired into homo sapiens’ brains, sometimes aided by hallucinogens or other means of altering consciousness. In fact, subjects in altered states of consciousness under laboratory conditions have produced similar images. Or it could be, I think, a bit of both.
This explains the abstractness, the mishmash of images, why there is no overall composition. They weren’t creating an artwork to be viewed; they were depicting an experience. Much of this is in places too inaccessible for the whole midwinter solstice crowd, deep inside dark passage tombs; it would have been the purview of the shaman or seer.
It follows an idealistic analysis, proposing that religious ideas preceded the material realities and social relations they expressed. Clearly, humans had religion before they developed agriculture, as Göbekli Tepe shows. Aurochs (wild bulls) were important in Neolithic religion before the domestication of cattle. But I think any argument that ideas precede realities is illogical (and unMarxist). But that is my only criticism.
It does not examine astroarchaeology (the alignments of stone circles toward solstices), but that is not a criticism. Other books do that. In the light of this analysis, however, I have revised my view of stone circles as ‘calendars’. Their import was probably more religious than as date predictors. The purpose was more to convey the consistency of the cosmos and to symbolise the stability provided by the rule of the religious elite—as above, so below.
The book analyses in detail major Neolithic sites in the Near East and British Isles. With B/W drawings and colour photos.
Richly scholarly, densely footnoted. It explains complex philosophical concepts quite cogently (though with some big words).
May 7, 2023
DNF. Got to Chapter 5 (pg 123). Through no fault of the book, it is simply not what I thought it was going to be.
I was looking for an in-depth look at the neurological conditions of humans dating to the neolithic period, and though the book somewhat delivers it falls short in the kind of empirical evidence I was looking for. I would have personally enjoyed the book more had there been more of a focus on neurology and human neolithic history. Instead the book takes the path of looking into 'altered states of consciousness' that might have impacted the neolithic humans.
Again, by no means a bad book. Just not for me. If you're interested in Neolithic art, shamanism practice, and less empirical explorations of this altered state of consciousness you would find the book interesting.
I was looking for an in-depth look at the neurological conditions of humans dating to the neolithic period, and though the book somewhat delivers it falls short in the kind of empirical evidence I was looking for. I would have personally enjoyed the book more had there been more of a focus on neurology and human neolithic history. Instead the book takes the path of looking into 'altered states of consciousness' that might have impacted the neolithic humans.
Again, by no means a bad book. Just not for me. If you're interested in Neolithic art, shamanism practice, and less empirical explorations of this altered state of consciousness you would find the book interesting.
April 28, 2023
THe four stars is in response to the scholarship and the writing. I didn't finish due to losing interest. I enjoyed the early part of the book when he was writing about the spirituality of hunter/gatherers but bailed when he got to the agriculturalists. Agriculture is inevitably followed by more hierarchy and that is followed by the use of spirituality to enforce the power and control of the elite. I read science books for the escapism. Once the religion he was describing turned to human and animal sacrifice, I decided to read something else.
May 31, 2024
It is far from the quality that Lewis-Williams achieved with "The Mind in the Cave", a classic of the revival of neoshamanism applied to Paleolithic art (although I believe that Jean Clottes surpassed him in this endeavor).
This second part, although interesting in relation to Gobekli Tepe and Chatal Huyuk, says little that is not already known, only focusing on altered states of consciousness and developing some neuro-theories (which were widely discussed in his first book).
It stays halfway..
This second part, although interesting in relation to Gobekli Tepe and Chatal Huyuk, says little that is not already known, only focusing on altered states of consciousness and developing some neuro-theories (which were widely discussed in his first book).
It stays halfway..
July 6, 2021
This is a fascinating book. The first few chapters were hard going as they set up their argument and used a lot of terms I am unfamiliar with.
Interesting theory they have about cosmology and religion. So much speculation (which I guess is understandable).
The funny thing is they they Neot saying that we had to get away from a modern way of thinking yet kept referencing Mattishall
Marxist theory!!
Interesting theory they have about cosmology and religion. So much speculation (which I guess is understandable).
The funny thing is they they Neot saying that we had to get away from a modern way of thinking yet kept referencing Mattishall
Marxist theory!!
September 1, 2024
A fascinating and often persuasive analysis of the role of neurological constants in the development of human societies. I have some questions (how many other interpretations of the Neolithic finds remain possible? why anthropological reports and Abrahamic religions but nothing about Buddhism or Chinese traditional religions etc?) but they didn't prevent me from finding much of interest and sometimes inspiration.
October 12, 2024
very innovative ideas that the authors don't go through far enough. as i've read more of it, i realized this book is more of a critic of archeological theories, perspective of religious experiences' place in revolutionary movements of society and many other things. a very interesting read that sadly lost track of its neolithic focus, which is what i bought it for.
March 8, 2023
I wanted to like this book, but found that I could not stay with the authors as they engaged in what felt like endless speculations about the nature of human consciousness and how these elements informed our Neolithic ancestors.
May 2, 2025
It's a good book with an interesting and unorthodox use of evolutionary psychology in cultural anthropology. Well written book about a hypothesis that neurological differences created the shift in human behaviour by making us able to experience hallucinations, which gave birth to experience of the spiritual. Also, this field of analysis allows for the new approaches in studying the religious symbolism and how we interpret it, do we see the same what our ancestors, just name it differently, what's tunnel for us, was a birthing canal for them?
The only annoying thing about this book is blunt secularism of the author, not leaving ground for the possibility of experiencing real mystical experience by those people, just hallucinations which they provoked using varied methods.
The only annoying thing about this book is blunt secularism of the author, not leaving ground for the possibility of experiencing real mystical experience by those people, just hallucinations which they provoked using varied methods.
July 25, 2018
Interesting , when i didnt have to read ad a course book
June 1, 2020
Co se odehrávalo v myslích neolitických stavitelů kamenných monumentů v západní Evropě, starších než egyptské Pyramidy? Fascinující kniha ke které se budu určitě často vracet.
August 19, 2020
Excellent book. I read the authors other book on Cave art and was pleased to find it was as well written. I will certainly continue to read any new books by this author.
April 4, 2022
Interesting......
August 28, 2024
Excellent and very stimulating read. Not sure I agree with some of the conclusions or some of the use of ethnographic evidence. However, I applaud the aim and ambition here.
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