ABSTRACT

How have our visual brains evolved, and exactly how did this constrain the specific way that animals were depicted in Upper Palaeolithic art? Here, we test predictions derived from visual neuroscience in this field. Using the example of open-air Upper Palaeolithic rock art of Portugal’s Côa Valley, we point out the frequently recurring outline strategies that past artists utilized to depict the prey animals upon which they were dependent for survival. Their depictional tendency can be mirrored onto the most visually salient anatomical aspects of these species, a finding that results from our use of a visual psychological experimental programme, called Bubbles. We find a remarkable correspondence between the aspects of the anatomy of horses and bison that modern participants found most helpful in successfully discriminating between the two, and those same aspects that are elaborated most in Upper Palaeolithic art. This leads us to conclude that the visual system of Homo sapiens drove the way that important prey species were depicted, and hence, the form of their art.

摘要

我们的视觉大脑是如何进化的，这究竟是如何限制上旧石器时代艺术中动物描绘的特定方式的？在这里，我们测试了来自该领域视觉神经科学的预测。以葡萄牙库亚河谷的上古旧石器时代露天岩石艺术为例，我们指出了经常重复出现的轮廓策略，过去的艺术家们用来描绘它们赖以生存的猎物。它们的描绘趋势可以反映到这些物种在视觉上最显着的解剖学方面，这一发现是由于我们使用了一种称为“泡泡”的视觉心理实验程序而得出的。。我们发现，马匹和野牛的解剖结构各方面之间有着显着的对应关系，现代参与者发现这对成功地区分两者最有帮助，而上旧石器时代的艺术品也有很多相似之处。这使我们得出结论，智人的视觉系统推动了重要猎物种类的描绘方式，并因此推动了其艺术形式的发展。