Description

What does the breathtakingly beautiful art depicted on the walls of caves such as Lascaux, Chauvet and Altamira, tell us about the nature of the ancestral mind? How did these images spring, seemingly from nowhere into the human story?

The Mind in the Cave puts forward the most plausible explanation yet proposed for the origins of image-making and art. This is a masterful piece of detective work, casting light on the darkest mysteries of our earliest ancestors and on the nature of our own consciousness and experience.

Publisher Review

'A fascinating and closely argued analysis' - Colin Renfrew, University of Cambridge 'A thorough, accessible and beautifully illustrated history of the origins of art based on anthropological and neurological research' - Observer 'A masterly piece of detective work' - Sunday Telegraph 'A genuine masterpiece' - Jean Clottes 'The most comprehensive and convincing explanation for the cave art in Europe so far' - Chris Stringer, Evening Standard 'It is hard to praise this book too highly. I have read nothing more fascinating all year' - John Carey, Sunday Times