The Sorcerer and the Ice Age Imagination
Some of the earliest evidence of the human experience is preserved on the walls of caves and rock shelters. Shapes, creatures, monsters and all manner of doodles and artworks are found in the places where our ancestors took refuge, and in places they could only reach by crawling into the bowels of the earth – for reasons that we can only now infer. These images communicate over many thousands of years: exquisite observations of other species, playful experimentation, community, and, very likely, the nature of spiritual experience over most of human history.
This talk will explore the story of the Trois Freres caves in South West France, in which a strange hybrid figure called The Sorcerer was found after WW2. His enigmatic form and the creatures he is surrounded with tell us of the monsters and myths our ancestors imagined: how they dealt with a life in the Ice Age landscape surrounded by giants and predators; how they came together to explore the depths of their consciousnesses. Their experiences have much to tell us about humanity today.
Bio
Natalie Lawrence is an author and historian of science living in London. She has a degree in zoology, and MSc and PhD in history and philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. Her latest book is Enchanted Creatures: Our Monsters and Their Meanings just came out with Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
