An archaeology of animism

Abstract

The paper focuses on the material known as Mesolithic portable art. Earlier research has interpreted the material as representative art relating to ideology, mythology, prestige, ritual practices and tribalism. Such interpretations are based on theoretical frameworks that build on hylomorphism and Cartesian metaphysics, resulting in this material being viewed as static objects of art. I offer a new theoretical framework informed by a new animist perspective, coupled with Tim Ingold’s meshwork, Giordano Bruno’s theory of bonds and Chantal Conneller’s relational chaîne opératoire . I conclude that the engravings on the tools and pendants are communications to the animated subjects that make up and inhabit the environment. Furthermore, I conclude that the binary positions of function and ritual cannot be applied when studying the form-generating process of this material, as the tools and pendants along with the imagery are a result of what is in between these binary positions.