• Cambridge Scholars Publishing

    "[Genetically Modified Organisms: A Scientific-Political Dialogue on a Meaningless Meme is] presents the debate associated with introducing GMOs as a traditional debate between science and progress against dogma. After reading it, I hope that science will win for the sake of all of us."

    - Professor David Zilberman, University of California at Berkeley

The Roots of Visual Depiction in Art: Neuroarchaeology, Neuroscience and Evolution

Why ancient humans first began to represent animals is a question that has led to a bewildering number of theories since cave art was discovered in the 19th century. Drawing on insights from visual science, evolution, and art theory, the book takes the reader on a unique and intriguing journey showing how the development of visual imagery in the human brain throughout evolution eventually led to the first figurative depictions of animals 37,000 years ago.


Derek Hodgson is noted for research illustrating how the neuroscience of vision can shed light on why early humans began to depict animals. He has published numerous articles on the subject in international journals and edited books, and has been an invited speaker at conferences throughout the world. He has served as a Research Associate in the Department of Archaeology at the University of York, UK, for many years and is a reviewer and advisor for a number of prestigious academic journals and institutions. His recent publications include “The Origins of Iconic Depictions: A Falsifiable Model Derived from the Visual Science of Palaeolithic Cave Art and World Rock Art” (in Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2018) and “Closely Observed Animals, Hunter-Gatherers and Visual Imagery in Upper Palaeolithic Art” (in Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 2017). Other areas of research interest include cognitive evolution, neuroarchaeology, and early stone tools.

“Derek Hodgson's recent publication 'The Roots of Visual Depiction in Art: Neuroarchaeology, Neuroscience and Evolution' illustrates how neuroscience provides new insights into why ancient hunter-gatherers first began to create images of animals. He carefully considers the deep evolutionary precursors influencing brain function as well as the ethological and environmental context that influenced behaviour. The author explains that representational art is intimately associated with how the visual system functions; after all, vision in humans constitutes the dominant sensory modality. The central premise is that the detection of animals would have been crucial to the survival of palaeo-people during the Ice Age, not just whilst hunting but also during everyday activities when predators needed to be avoided. Identifying animals was one of the key factors that led to the advancement of the human visual system. Hodgson's analysis of prehistoric art in this publication is very extensive; he covers so much ground. One particular aspect I enjoyed, and one which I feel is underrepresented, is his explanation of a changing perspective of art. During the Upper Palaeolithic animals and humans were on an equal footing. This, however, began to change some 30,000 years ago as humans gained the ascendancy. While Hodgson isn't the first writer to analyse rock art using the neuroscientific lens, The Roots of Visual Depiction in Art takes a realm of science that may intimidate many and links it with a genre of art that attracts us all. The result is a perspicacious, challenging and exciting publication that will appeal to the general reader as well as the specialist.”
The Bradshaw Foundation, September 2019

Buy This Book

ISBN: 1-5275-3050-7

ISBN13: 978-1-5275-3050-8

Release Date: 2nd April 2019

Pages: 198

Price: £58.99

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ISBN: 1-5275-6208-5

ISBN13: 978-1-5275-6208-0

Release Date: 14th December 2020

Pages: 198

Price: £32.99

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