Altered States and Paleolithic Caves
September 2021 | Vol. 9.9
By Yafit Kedar, Gil Kedar, and Ran Barkai
People have always been fascinated by caves. Underground cavities and hollows in mountains have played a special role for indigenous societies, past and present, shaping the way they perceived the universe, understood their place in the world, and perpetuated their relationships with the different entities inhabiting the cosmos. But communicating with these entities was a challenge.
Avshalom Cave, Israel. Photo by Sir_Joseph / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0
Distribution of primary Palaeolithic cave-art locations in Eurasia. Graphic by Peter Bull, via Royal Society of Chemistry.
Many indigenous societies viewed, and still view, the cosmos as a tripartite system, composed of an upper, a middle (or here-and-now) and lower world (also known as the netherworld or the underworld). Indigenous people saw their well-being, prosperity, and perpetuation of the world order as dependent upon maintaining good relations and communicating with the entities inhabiting the upper and the lower worlds.
Upper Paleolithic decorated caves, first discovered in Europe in the late 19th century, have generated great interest among researchers due to the seeming uniqueness of this phenomenon in human history. About 400 decorated caves have been found in Western Europe, mostly in Spain and France, and are dated to ca. 40,000 to 14,000 year before present (BP). The images are often found in dark, narrow passages or in dark halls with narrow passage access. Fire was used as artificial light in order to reach the depths of the cave and allow a unique human activity in these completely dark spaces: the creation of the depictions themselves. In Chauvet-Pont d’Arc, France, for example, various traces of fire use were found, such as formal hearths, scattered charcoal, lamps, torch marks, and thermal modification of the cave walls. Other evidence for fire use for light was also identified at the caves at Morgota, Covaciella, Comte, Pergouset, and Grotta della Bàsura among others.
The significance of caves in indigenous world-views is a fascinating subject, and so is the study of Paleolithic decorated caves. The use of artificial light in these well-chosen portals allowed early humans to maintain their connectedness with the cosmos via altered states of consciousness. Moreover, it was suggested that the depictions reflect entoptic visuals – originating in the human eye itself – which are oriented towards non-human counterparts in the Netherworld beyond the cave wall. Researchers further suggest that underground chambers were decorated because of their cosmological and ontological significance. It was not the decoration that rendered the caves significant; rather, the significance of the chosen caves was the reason for their decoration.
The view from inside the cave circa 1970s. Photo: Heinrich Wendel, © The Wendel Collection, Neanderthal Museum.
Aerial view showing the region of the Chauvet-Pont d’Arc cave. Photo by Équipe Chauvet – Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication.
We suggest that caves and rockshelters were conceived as portals to the underground world, a world of prosperity, plenty, and growth. The rock face itself, within the cave or the rockshelter, was conceived as a membrane, a tissue connecting the here-and-now world and the underground world beyond. We also argue that these are the reasons behind human engagement with subterranean natural features, and that humans targeted specific caves in order to establish and maintain their relationships with the entities of the underworld.
Caves—especially deep, dark caves with narrow passages that cannot be navigated without artificial light—are characterized by sharp reductions in oxygen concentration. The natural oxygen concentration in the atmosphere is 21%. When the human body is deprived of its mandatory oxygen supply, a condition known as hypoxia ensues. Hypoxia is defined as a reaction to oxygen concentration below 18%. Oxygen concentration of 18% to 13.5% results in mild hypoxia; anything lower results in severe hypoxia.
Air flow in an open cave. (Kedar et al., The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture, 2021).
Hypoxia affects the nervous tissues, particularly in the frontal cortex and the right hemisphere of the brain, areas thought to be related to creativity associated with emotions. Hypoxia causes physiological or behavioral changes such as drowsiness, euphoria, misjudgment, and loss of self-criticism. These symptoms usually occur at oxygen concentration lower than 14.5% and may occur even at higher concentrations associated with physical exercise or in extreme environments, such as the darkness and isolation typical of caves.
We simulated the use of artificial light in various closed space inside caves in order to analyze the conditions in such contexts in Upper Paleolithic caves. The simulations simulated the natural air tunnels between the cave internal and the external environment due to temperature differences. We also used the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) developed by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This simulation program was used to simulate fire in complex compartments and buildings, and it has been verified in archaeology by simulating fire and comparing the results to samples from Chauvet-Pont d’Arc Cave, France.
The simulation showed that oxygen levels in narrow passages or halls with a single passage declined rapidly. The oxygen concentrations in most simulation cases fall below the level that induces a hypoxic state (<18%) after only about 15 minutes. In case of a low ceiling or small halls, the oxygen concentration decreases to as low as 11%, a level at which the symptoms of hypoxia may be severe. Hypoxia has also been shown to increase dopamine hormone levels, resulting in hallucinations, and out-of-body experiences. Hypoxia followed by increased dopamine hormone levels may thus trigger altered states of consciousness (ASC) symptoms naturally, without psychoactive plants or any other active measures.
A possible connection between ASCs and cave depictions was previously proposed by archaeologist David Lewis-Williams, who claimed that the dark cave environment combined with extended isolation from the outside world and disorientation may result in altered states of consciousness. These originate within the nervous system and thus are common to all humans, regardless of cultural differences. In their research they showed that hypoxia, which shares many of the symptoms also associated with ASCs, might indeed be a plausible trigger for the creation of cave depictions. This moreover demonstrated that hypoxia might well be a plausible explanation for many of the depiction locations, which are far from the cave mouth and require passing through low, narrow passages.
We suggest that the depictions themselves should be viewed as one component of human connectedness and interactions with the cosmos, and not as the sole and ultimate objective of the humans who created them in the inner most depths of the cave. We contend that entering these deep, dark caves was a conscious choice, motivated by an understanding of the transformative nature of an underground, oxygen-depleted space.
Lion panel, End Chamber of Chauvet-Pont d’Arc cave. Photo by Arnaud Frich, Centre National de Préhistoire, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication.
Bison on the ceiling of the cave of Altamira. Photo by Museo de Altamira and D. Rodríguez. CC By SA 3.0.
While most researchers highlight the depictions as one of the most commendable achievements of the human race, we also suggest that this magnificent phenomenon be acknowledged within the set of practices oriented towards establishing and maintaining indigenous relationships with the world.
Yafit Kedar is a PhD candidate at the Department of Archaeology and Near Eastern Studies, Tel-Aviv University, Israel.
Gil Kedar received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Technion, Israel, in 2017.
Ran Barkai is Professor at the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, Tel Aviv University.
Further Reading
Ferrier, C., Debard, É., Kervazo, B., Brodard, A., Guibert, P., Baffier, D., Feruglio, V., Gély, B., Geneste, J. and Maksud, F. 2014. Heated Walls of the Cave Chauvet-Pont d’Arc (Ardèche, France): Characterization and Chronology. PALEO. Revue d’archéologie préhistorique, 25: 59-78. https://doi.org/10.4000/paleo.3009
Kedar, Y., Kedar, G. and Barkai, R. 2021. Hypoxia in Paleolithic Decorated Caves: The Use of Artificial Light in Deep Caves Reduces Oxygen Concentration and Induces Altered States of Consciousness. Time and Mind, The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture, 14.2: 1-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/1751696X.2021.1903177
How to cite this article:
Kedar, Y., Kedar, G. and R. Barkai 2021. “Altered States and Paleolithic Caves.” The Ancient Near East Today 9.9. Accessed at: https://anetoday.org/altered-states-paleolithic-caves/.
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