There may be no greater encyclopedia of knowledge to be read and no archaeological ruin so bountiful in its discoveries than the history of mankind that remains in the deepest chamber of the cave that is our minds. The following Before Orion university lectures and conference presentations with author and naturalist Bernie Taylor shed light on the potential of the human imagination.
Conference Posters
Earliest known map from the Upper Paleolithic depicting an Iberian Peninsula to western North Africa journey as presented at the American Association of Geographers 2021 conference (#AAG2021). More on Ice Age Mapmakers
Teaching Astronomy Through Art & Myth
Upper Paleolithic Iberian constellations as presented at the 2020 International Astronomical Union Symposium (#IAUS367) in Argentina. More on archaeoastronomy.
Video Presentations
Scientific study relies on our ability to measure time so as to organize and analyze data. The conscious measurement of time is not innate to primates and appears to be a realization unique to humans. How did we come to this conscious state of measuring time? Consider the evidence in “The Measurement of Time” (PDF), as presented at the History of Science Society 2023 Annual Meeting (#HSS23). Learn more about the path of scientific discovery.
Is there evidence of Neanderthal art? Consider these images from the San Diego Rock Art Association 2023 symposium presentation “Neanderthal Art? A closer look at La Roche-Cotard” (PDF). Learn more about the origins of art.
Can rock art be dated by the seasons of flora and fauna? Are we able to measurably survey terrestrial planes and night skies from distant millennia? Could we truly see the visions of Ice Age artists? Consider these approaches in “The Archaeometry of Space,” (PDF) as presented at the International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (UISPP) 2023 World Congress (#UISPP2023). Learn more about precession of the equinoxes.
Did we create art or were artistic visualizations first found within our reach? Consider these Ice Age artifacts and their pictorial sources in “Sacred Landscapes in Rock Art,” (PDF) as presented at the European Association of Archaeologists 2023 Annual Meeting (#EAA2023). Learn more about landscape archaeology.
Deep discussion on lunar timekeeping and humanity at the University College of London Anthropology Department “Radical Anthropology Group” evening class series. More on lunar timekeeping.
Are there “as above, so below” themes in rock art? Consider early evidence in “Parallel Planes in Rock Art” (PDF) as presented at the International Federation of Rock Art Organizations (IFRAO) 2023 Inter-Congress Symposium. Learn more about rock art.
Did we invent painting, engraving and sculpture or were these forms of art earlier found thru the eyes of the beholders? Consider these artifacts in “Origins of Cave Art – Evidence from the Archaeological Record,” (PDF) as presented at the Society for American Archaeology 2023 Annual Meeting (#SAA2023Portland). Learn more about the origins of art.
Hunter-gatherer and ancient peoples are globally recorded as teaching their cultural histories and geography through engaging ordinary and supernatural characters on a journey. Can geographic methods be taught with these epic narratives? Find the methodology in this American Association of Geographers 2023 Annual Meeting (#AAG2023) presentation “Mapping Hercules – A Geographic Teaching Tool” (PDF). More indigenous and ancient perspectives.
Was cave art founded in altered states of consciousness? Consider the evidence in “Altered States in Ice Art?” as presented to the Association for the Anthropology of Consciousness in 2023. Consider these other Ice Age images.
Was landscape pareidolia projected onto the walls of Ice Age caves? View the archaeology record through “Living Landscapes in Ice Age Art,” as delivered at the International Association of Landscape Archaeology conference – IALA 2022 (PDF). Explore more cosmoscape presentations.
Did Native Americans and European Ice Age artists share a common awareness of the natural world? Consider the evidence in this 2022 San Diego Rock Art Association symposium presentation “Rock Art in Time (PDF).”
Do marks in Ice Age caves form our first verifiable calendar? Consider the evidence in “Lunar Timekeeping in Ice Age Art,” as presented at the European Society for Astronomy in Culture / Société Européenne pour l’Astronomie dans la Culture conference – SEAC 2022 (PDF). Explore more archaeoastronomy presentations.
Was there a perceived connection between the Underworld, Terrestrial Realm and the Sky World in Ice Age Europe? Re-discover our hunter-gatherer cultural heritage in “Living Mountains in Ice Age Art,” as presented at The Arts in Society 2022 (English PDF) conference in English, Spanish, French and Basque. #ICAIS22
Did peoples on distant lands reinvent fundamental animistic traditions or have we been carrying them with us on our migrations? Explore this American Anthropological Association 2021 Annual Meeting presentation (PDF) and other images of animistic traditions.
A journey before the records of the Mesopotamians and ancient Greeks to re-discover earlier sources of our scientific heritage in “Upper Paleolithic Constellations” (PDF). Presented at the European Society for Astronomy in Culture / Société Européenne pour l’Astronomie dans la Culture Conference on Cultural Astronomy & Ancient Skywatching – SEAC 2021. Explore more archaeoastronomy presentations.
Are sacred mountains psychological and archaeological connections between world cultures? Consider this Iberian-western North African archeological evidence in “Sacred Mountains in the Upper Paleolithic” (English PDF), as presented at the International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (UISPP) World Congress XIX. This video playlist offers narrations and text in English, español, française, berber/Tifinagh and Moroccan darija.
Hunter-gatherers and ancient peoples around the world have the common tradition of a bird-person intermediary to the divine. Is this proof of a Great Almighty or that this spiritual tradition comes from a common source deep in time? Explore one answer with “Angelic Messengers or Mortal Projections?” (PDF), as presented at the International Association for the Psychology of Religion 2021 Conference. Discover other Upper Paleolithic traditions in these 2 minute videos.
Can the birth of the Cosmos be explained through an Upper Paleolithic myth? “The Bird that Laid the Cosmic Egg” as presented at the American Ornithological Society and Society of Canadian Ornithologists 2021 Joint Annual Meeting. #2021AOS_SCO More on archaeoastronomy.
Where do dogs originate from and how did they become domesticated? View this 2021 Canine Science Forum presentation. Additional research on the origin of dogs.
Were we knuckle-dragging cave people in the Upper Paleolithic or a critical link in what it means to be human? Presentation given at The American Society of Naturalists, the Society for the Study of Evolution, and the Society of Systematic Biologists joint annual meeting Virtual Evolution 2021. Further research on the human mind.
Exploring Picasso’s Ice Age inspirations for Guernica, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, and other works at the 2021 The Arts in Society conference. A deep dive into Picasso.
Rethinking the origins of ancient myths through the lens of Upper Paleolithic cave at the 2021 Mythologium. #myth2021 More on Upper Paleolithic cave art.
Did the Ancient Greeks find inspiration in Upper Paleolithic sources? “Upper Paleolithic Origins of Greek Myths” (PDF) presentation given at the 2021 International Symposium & Exhibition on Mythology.
The untold story of Les Demoiselles d’Avignon in “Picasso’s Masks” (PDF) as presented at the London Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in 2020.
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