Cavemen-tality

Poet Christian Morgenstern said: “In every work of art, the artist himself is present”. This cave art, painted during the Upper Paleolithic period, can be seen in Grotte Chauvet in southern France. Researchers believe it contains clues that suggest the artist was autistic, and that autism may have played a vital part in the evolution of human civilisation. The artist who painted these mountain lions had recognisable autistic traits – capturing impressive detail from memory, using repeated lines, and focussing on individual parts rather than the whole animal. The implications are still debated, but it’s possible that inclusion of talented humans with autistic traits may have been a basis for early society. Researchers are now aiming to link telltale traits in cave art with modern day minds – asking if we can recognise the subject matter of ancient artworks in this survey.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image courtesy of the University of York, UK
• Department of Archaeology, University of York, UK
• Image copyright held by the photographer
• Research published in Time and Mind, The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture, November 2016