The Shamans of Prehistory

The Shamans of Prehistory

by Jean Clottes and David Lewis-Williams

Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, New York       © 1998       114 pp.

Through the view of Shamanism, Jean Clottes, an expert in cave paintings, and David Lewis-Williams, a South African scholar of cave art and the customs of San Bushman, offer us their ideas on prehistoric markings in this book. The book is 11”x12” and contains 114 pages with 116 illustrations, including 90 full-color photographs. You can find this book in “New Arrivals” or “Art/Prehistory” in the CSS Library.

The color photographs are why I picked up the book originally. They are striking in their quality of color and detail. I didn’t read every page in this book; rather, I let the photographs lead me to the connecting text or I looked at the chapter headings and chose what seemed interesting to read. Check out the Notes and Bibliography section if you like footnotes and such, as I do.

I especially liked that the writers invite us to investigate with them the ideas they present. They ask the question, "Will we ever really know the meaning of these marks?", and they offer us the following response:

“We will no doubt never know, it is true, the details of the myths, rites, and cultural practices of these people who have been gone for so long. However, in spite of everything—in spite of the obstacles and even the ultimate possibilities—the pursuit of questions and searching for meaning through the various insights that arise are the only means to gain ground on this perilous path, to approach gradually—although never to arrive at—the modes of thinking and living of the Ice Age peoples. “ (p. 79)

-- reviewed by Barbara Goldberg

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