Authors
Thomas A Dowson
Publication date
1988/6/1
Journal
World Archaeology
Volume
20
Issue
1
Pages
116-128
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Group
Description
San ethnography concerning the personal nature of religious beliefs contradicts the view that San rock art, essentially a religious art, is uniform due to social control. There are, however, rare paintings and engravings that show that some idiosyncrasy does exist. Because these idiosyncratic depictions were created under certain social conditions and constraints, they are explicable within the framework of the San cognitive system. They are thought to be expressions of religious beliefs comparable with the ethnographic accounts of individual religious revelations. San rock art comprises depictions which are uniform, resulting from a combination of neurological and cultural factors, as well as idiosyncratic or nonce depictions resulting from idiosyncratic revelations.
Total citations
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