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Crossing the Line: The Early Expression of Pattern in Middle Stone Age Africa

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Journal of World Prehistory Aims and scope

Art is pattern informed by sensibility. (Herbert Read, The Meaning of Art)

Abstract

This paper provides a synthesis of the currently known evidence for cross-hatch patterning on stone, ochre and ostrich eggshell from Middle Stone Age Africa, between 100,000 and 60,000 BP. The significance of the incised artefacts is that they are used as proxies for an early capacity for symbolic thought, and potentially the emergence of language to convey their meaning. Beyond their significance in theoretical debates, these marked objects demonstrate conjunctions in the expression of design, exhibiting vertical, horizontal and oblique incised or engraved lines, patterns that have been classified as cross-hatching. Yet very little attention has been paid to the patterns themselves. This paper examines the archaeological evidence and looks at why these patterns might be important from a perceptual perspective. Taking a neurological approach, it considers current knowledge of neural, and especially visual, plasticity and the interconnectedness of brain areas relating to vision, learning, memory and emotion.

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Acknowledgments

I am grateful to Ben Smith for commenting on this paper and providing some useful references and guidance. My thanks also to Sven Ouzman and Wilhelmina Seconna at Iziko Museums, Cape Town for their generous access to collections, as well as Alex Mackay for his insight and advice. Acknowledgements also go to Jean-Pierre Texier, Alex Mackay, Leon Jacobson, Steven Mithen, and Adam Brumm for their provision of images for this paper. I am grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful and valuable comments.

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  1. Rock Art Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Building, Origins Centre, Yale Road, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa

    Helen Anderson

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Correspondence to Helen Anderson.

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Anderson, H. Crossing the Line: The Early Expression of Pattern in Middle Stone Age Africa. J World Prehist 25, 183–204 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10963-012-9061-2

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