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SUMMARY:Pareidolia and Cave Art: Integrating Interdisciplinary Approaches 
 to Understand the Cognitive Mechanisms Behind the Emergence of Palaeolithi
 c Art - Dr. Isobel Wisher (Aarhus University)
DTSTART:20221104T160000Z
DTEND:20221104T170000Z
UID:TALK189545@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:106589
DESCRIPTION:*Abstract:* Pareidolia – the phenomenon of seeing random pat
 terns as meaningful forms\, like faces in clouds – appears to be a unive
 rsal feature of our visual system. The ability to resolve ambiguous visual
  stimuli in this way likely had evolutionary advantages\, allowing our anc
 ient ancestors to quickly identify hidden predators and react against the 
 perceived danger. It has previously been conceptually suggested that this 
 phenomenon may have been one of the mechanisms that was activated in the e
 ncompassing darkness of caves\, and in turn influenced art making in these
  environments (e.g.\, Hodgson 2008). But to what extent is pareidolia resp
 onsible for this early form of art? And how might we test hypotheses relat
 ed to the influence of pareidolia or other cognitive mechanisms in Palaeol
 ithic art making? This talk evaluates the particular role pareidolia may h
 ave had in art making by using interdisciplinary approaches and cutting-ed
 ge digital techniques\, such as virtual reality. The results of this novel
  approach are presented for three cave art sites: Las Monedas\, La Pasiega
  and El Castillo. Integrating perspectives and methodologies from differen
 t disciplines to generate deeper insights into aspects of Palaeolithic art
  also has vast implications for future directions of the field\, pushing t
 he boundaries of our knowledge beyond the limitations of fragmentary archa
 eological remains.
LOCATION:McDonald Institute Seminar Room\, Department of Archaeology
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