#study 5

When looking at the definition of shamans, it is explained in its roots as belief practitioners in several prehistoric Siberian societies.[1] The term itself is misused, and the practitioners of beliefs in western European Upper Paleolithic are themselves misinterpreted. Prehistorians also tend to compare prehistoric European beliefs to other societies in other parts of the world, such as South Africa and North America. Although prehistorians could be right about the human conscious to be universal, belief practices are determined by other factors, such as weather conditions, ways of obtaining food, and location.

After evaluation of my previous entries about shamanism in Upper Paleolithic parietal cave art, I have determined that although the discussed parietal art has been conducted in various forms as images relating to shamanism, there is still ideas that don’t fit to a majority of other parietal arts. The issue prehistorians face when discussing beliefs of the Upper Paleolithic is that the concepts are interpreted within the context of the nearer past. Since images and objects are the only way to understand prehistory, there can be too much room for interpretation.

2 January 2018 - study 5