The Spirit in Human Evolution - Waldorf Research Institute

possible caveats, these figures (for population densities) can only indicate a fairly massive
increase in the overall densities of human populations in many regions of Europe,
coinciding broadly with the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic.” 35
Ornament
The presence of hearths, structured living sites, deliberate burials and evidence of
worked artifacts which clearly had no utilitarian function, such as beads, pierced shells,
worked amber, and art, points to social structures of a complex nature. Personal ornament
expresses a wide range of human experience other than aesthetic considerations, which
no doubt have always played a role. Even within the essentially egalitarian hunterforager
cultures the individuals within the group have their status, whether based on
sex, age or experience. Such differentiation can be seen in the association of bear and
wolf teeth with the skeletons of men, armbands and necklaces of pearls, snail shells
and mussel shells for women, antler pieces for old men, and so on. One of the graves
at Dolni-Vestonice contained a female skeleton with evidence of a malformation of the
facial bones. A small carved head as well as a small ivory plate with stylized eyes, nose
and mouth both indicate asymmetry on the left corner of the mouth, similar in fact to
that of the skull. This remarkable find certainly points a very personalized expression
of art and ornament, the carved head is called the first portrait in world history. At any
rate, personal ornament is clearly an indication of an emerging self-consciousness within
a social group.
Many of the ornaments, as well as pieces of good quality stone used for blade
production, are known to originate from regions geographically remote from their
find sites. Amber from the Baltic has been found in southern Europe, sea shells have
been found far from the sea, and fossils such as sharks’ teeth from known geological
sources have been found in areas remote from their origin. Among hunter-forager
peoples exchange of objects considered valuable because of their intrinsic qualities is
known to be part of the complex relationships linking separate groups. The exchange
of group members through marriage is a well-known feature of such societies. It seems
reasonable to assume that Upper Paleolithic exchange could be seen in this light, rather
than as evidence of trade in any commercial sense. Such relationships not only express
awareness and recognition of the other group but also strengthen the self-identity of the
group itself.
Good Communications
Such relationships are unimaginable without full modern language abilities.
While the Ancients may well have managed with basic proto-language forms for naming
things, identifying elementary relationships such as “ours/yours,” the kind of human
society implied by the archaeological evidence of the Moderns, would have required
the full range of syntax, especially the temporal forms of verbs with their supporting
adverbials. Researchers such as Luigi Cavalli-Sforza have argued that the acquisition of
full language skills more or less represents the prerequisite for global migrations such
as we know took place. Certainly, once mankind started inhabiting the more extreme
environments such as the Eastern European steppes during the last Ice Age, fully
comprehensive language skills were essential.
_________________________
35
See The Oxford Illustrated Prehistory of Europe, 1994, p64.
260