Abstract
That the wall paintings of the Early Stone Age, more particularly Upper Paleolithic, are more than mere forms of artistry has been widely acknowledged by now. Investigations into their background have resulted in interpretations as diverse as hunting scenes and metaphysical connotations. From a technical point of view the paintings appear to be more than a picture gallery. The animals painted, rather than being images are carriers of messages, language-like in nature. As vehicles of thought they combine a subject and a predicate: the depicted animal and a property attributed to it. Each message comprised in one symbolic image has been transferred from a spoken sentence to a pictured representation. On the painted cave walls we are confronted with the earliest writings of mankind.
About the author
Flip G. Droste (b. 1928) is Professor Emeritus at Leuven University 〈Droste@skynet.be〉. His research interests include semantics, language, and thinking. His publications include Over de oorsprong van de taal (2005); Simon Stevin, wetenschapper in oorlogstijd (2007); De grammatica van het geloof (2009).
©2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Munich/Boston
