From Pleistocene Art to the Worship of the Mountains in China. Methodological tools for Mimesis in Paleoart

Autores: Patricio Bustamante, Daniela Bustamante

Bednarik (2009) described the Makapansgat jasperite cobble, a stone shaped as a human face deposited 2.5 to 3 million years ago. Tsao et al. (2006) demonstrated that face perception is a crucial skill to primates, humans and macaque monkeys. Applying two methodological tools of the Entorno Archaeology – Psychological and Geographical Entorno-, may allow to understand the process that probably led Pleistocene humans to regard as sacred rocks -Mimetoliths- and objects -Mimetomorphswith natural forms that resembled animals or human beings, in increasing scale, from small rocks, big rocks, mountains and Mountainous ranges, in the early Chinese culture, where we have found that three mythological characters: Pan-Gu (盘古), Fu-Xi (伏羲) and Shen-Nong (神农), probably were sacred mountains. Mimesis, by the psychological phenomena of Pareidolia, Apophenia and Hierophany (The PAH triad), might explain the many instances when humans between Pleistocene and early Chinese culture attributed religious significance or extraordinary connections to ordinary imagery and subjects. On the other hand, Mimetoliths and Mimetomorphs might contribute to explain the origins of Palaeoart, animism and religion.

From Pleistocene Art to the Worship of the Mountains in China. Methodological tools for Mimesis in Paleoart.