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Abstract

Shamanic referents in Upper Palaeolithic cave art indicate its pivotal role in the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic transition. Etic models of shamanism derived from cross-cultural research help articulate the shamanic paradigm in cave art and explicate the role of shamanism in this transition. Shamanism is found cross-culturally in hunter-gatherer societies, constituting an ecological and psychosociobiological adaptation that reflects the ritual and cosmology of early modern humans. Shamanism played a role in cognitive and social evolution through production of analogical thought processes, visual symbolism and group-bonding rituals. Universals of shamanism are derived from innate modules, particularly the hominid ‘mimetic controller’ and music and dance. These induced altered states of consciousness, which produce physiological, cognitive, personal and social integration through integrative brain-processing. Shamanic altered states of consciousness have the cross-modal integration characteristic of the emergent features of Palaeolithic thought and facilitated adaptations to the ecological and social changes of the Upper Palaeolithic. Cross-modular integration of innate modules for inferring mental states (mind), and social relations (self/others), and understanding the natural world (classificatory schemas) produced the fundamental forms of trope (metaphor) that underlay analogical representation. These integrations also explain animism (mental and social modules applied to natural domains); totemism (natural module applied to social domain); and guardian spirit relations (natural module applied to self and mental domains).
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... The same holds for the appropriate use of the term shaman. Winkelman (2002;also see 2008 proposed that there should be three major pillars of evidence for a cross-cultural shaman: ...
... Shamanism is a transcultural phenomenon because it is derived from innate dispositions that produce and structure central features of its practices and the phenomenology of ASC C37P10 2 C37P10 3 (Winkelman, 2010a(Winkelman, , 2011b. Shamanic features reflect key aspects of human cognitive evolution (Winkelman, 2002), innate operators that function like modular structures, specialized automated operators largely operating unconsciously that produce adaptive cognitive responses related to specific survival functions of the environment of evolutionary adaptedness (Barkow et al., 1992(Barkow et al., , 2001Boyer, 2017;Carruthers & Chamberlain, 2000). The contemporary cognitive science of religion regards the universality of supernatural beliefs as reflecting operations of these same innate mental processes (Clements, 2017;Craffert et al., 2019). ...
... Core features of shamanic universals reflect these innate cognitive processes and their integration in complex representations of supra-human spirits, animal spirits, and humans with animal powers (Winkelman, 2002(Winkelman, , 2019d. These innate operators (d' Aquili & Newberg, 1999) conceptualized as modular innate intelligences by Gardner (2000) notably focus on social intelligences for perspective taking and internalizing the social self of others, capacities that enhanced our ability to adapt to the most important features of the environment-social others. ...
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Shamanism is a transcultural concept for understanding roles of ritual and psychedelics in the prehistoric origins of religiosity. The origins of religiosity are revealed by parallels of shamanic and chimpanzee collective ritualizations involving group chorusing and drumming with dramatic bipedal displays. This hominid baseline was expanded with mimetic evolution of song, dance and enactment. Psychedelic substances stimulate innate cognitive dispositions manifested in shamanism such as the human-like qualities of spirits, animal identities and other spiritual and mystical experiences. These structural features of consciousness are stimulated by mimetic performances with song, dancing, and drumming; painful and exhausting austerities; and psychedelic substances. These produce altered experiences of the self which are conceptualized within indigenous psychologies as spirits and one’s soul, spiritual allies, and animal powers that can be incorporated into personal powers (i.e., animal transformation). Cross-cultural manifestation of shamanic features reveal that they are based in biology rather than merely cultural traditions.
... Traditional altered states of consciousness (ASC) are described as qualitative changes in individual psychological functioning that are distinct from normal waking consciousness (Tart, 1972). Within this conceptual framework, shamanism shows correlations with traditional ASC (Winkelman, 2002). Shamans undergo rituals that induce altered states of consciousness (ASC) and transform them into spirit beings, creating a unique shamanic state of consciousness (SSC). ...
... From the initial early processing of the external world (such as visual facial features), gradually moving to the intermediate stage of processing the internal world (such as the sense of ownership of the body and face), and finally involving the processing of identity and self, thus realizing the archetypal symbolic triggering process in the unconscious state. In contrast, the dissociative experiences induced by shamanic archetypal symbols require the induction of an unconscious state through ritual to be perceived, that is, enter the spiritual world to achieve a change in consciousness (Winkelman, 2002). Although shamans may believe that the entities they encounter in the spirit world exist independently (Winkelman, 1990), Jung's understanding of these experiences is based on his model of the psyche (Bright, 2009). ...
... Shamans construct a unique threshold space by leveraging common factors among participants. This may encompass specific brain structures, mythological legends, genetics, and other shared elements within the participant population (Lewis-Williams and Clottes, 1998;Winkelman, 2002). For example, shamanic rituals typically take place at night. ...
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The alteration of consciousness during shamanic rituals is both a physical and mystical phenomenon. It involves psychological and spiritual experiences. Through ritual practices, shamans can connect with archetype within the collective unconscious, utilizing trance-inducing techniques for “hallucinatory exploration”. This study surveyed 75 participants to investigate the impact of prototype symbols in Shamanistic rituals on participants’ consciousness states focusing on Jungian psychology’s concept of archetype. The results indicate that archetype symbols in shamanic rituals can significantly influence participants’ conscious state, leading them to experience a conscious dissolution of the self. Furthermore, archetype symbols have different effects at the stages of consciousness change. In particular, during the “Visionary Restructuralization” stage, archetype symbols, such as patterns, masks, totems and music, brought participants’ consciousness to a peak and caused significant changes to it. These findings suggest that the metaphoric function of archetype symbols plays a crucial role in rituals. Archetype symbols connect the individual to the collective unconscious through visual images and symbolic imagery. They prompt the participants to experience emotional resonances that transcend individual experiences and affect their state of consciousness.
... Culturally-mediated use of dissociation is believed to have occurred at least as far back as Paleolithic times. The prehistoric paintings depicting halfhuman, half-animal figures that populate caves around the world are believed to represent shamans in religious frenzies like those of modern shamanic trance cultures and may be a part of the symbolic enactment of religious ceremony [34][35] . Furthermore, cultures differ in their manifestations of shamanic dissociation. ...
... South American shamans are renowned for their use of entheggenic plants such as ayahuasca, San Pedro, and tobacco to induce dissociation and visions, while peyote has been used in the U.S. Southwest. The Bushmen of the Kalahari were able to induce a trance and "climb to the sky," a practice reminiscent of the Sambia of the New Guinea Highlands 35 . Most of these descriptions imply a dissociation induction method-i.e., pain, exhaustion, hypoglycemia, psychoactive drugs that can readily be defined as stressors. ...
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Cultural influences give rise to challenges in the context of managing commonly presenting mental illnesses and dissociative trance or possession states capture the essence of the problem. Trance is an altered state of consciousness and possession is a conviction that the individual has been taken over by a spirit, power, deity, or other person. It remains an enigma for most of us. Unresolved stressful events and socio-cultural background are the vulnerability factors. Various cortical area and neurotransmitters are blamed for this condition. It can also be understood by religious perspective and psychoanalytic theory. A holistic view of paranormal experiences should be developed to tackle these phenomena.
... We argue that the sense of a spiritual connection with the divine may have fostered the development of shamanistic practices and early religion. It is hypothesized that as experiences of self-transcendence and transcendent experiences became enhanced, people began to seek them ritually, something that is seen in many extant hunter gatherer and shamanistic cultures (Winkelman, 2002). Neurobiologically, it is possible that the capacity for powerful experiences of selflessness may have involved the co-opting of some of the neural mechanisms that were originally evolved for human bonding and sexuality (Cohen, 2019). ...
... We argue that the sense of a spiritual connection with the divine may have fostered the development of shamanistic practices and early religion. It is hypothesized that as experiences of self-transcendence and transcendent experiences became enhanced, people began to seek them ritually, something that is seen in many extant hunter gatherer and shamanistic cultures (Winkelman, 2002). Neurobiologically, it is possible that the capacity for powerful experiences of selflessness may have involved the co-opting of some of the neural mechanisms that were originally evolved for human bonding and sexuality (Cohen, 2019). ...
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Recent neuropaleontological research suggests that the parietal lobe has increased in size as much as the frontal lobes in Homo Sapiens over the past 150,000 years, but has not provided a neuropsychological explanation for the evolution of human socialization or the development of religion. Drawing from several areas of research, (i.e., neurodevelopment, neuropsychology, paleoneurology, cognitive science, archeology, and anthropology), we argue that parietal evolution in Homo sapiens integrated sensations and mental processes into a more integrated subjective “sense of self”. This enhanced self advanced prosocial traits (e.g., increased empathy, greater social bonding, enhanced theory of mind capacities), promoting more effective socialization skills (e.g., parenting, group cooperation). Conversely, when this enhanced sense of self became inhibited, powerful experiences of self-transcendence occurred. We believe these potent selfless experiences became increasingly sought after though ritual means (e.g., music, dance, vision quests, spirit travel), providing the foundations for the development of shamanism and religion.
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The mind-body relationship has long been a subject of inquiry from both philosophical and scientific perspectives. Ancient Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato posited dualistic models, where the mind and body are distinct substances. In contrast, modern approaches in Mind-Body Medicine (MBM) offer integrative models that emphasize the interconnectedness of mental and physical states and the proactive role of the patient in their own healing process. This review examines the evolutionary roots of altered states of consciousness (ASC) as a precursor to current MBM techniques. By tracing ASC to early hominins and their cognitive development, it posits that the ability to enter various ASC—such as those used in rituals, meditation, and other mind-body practices—provided evolutionary advantages, influencing both individual fitness and social cohesion. Moreover, this review discusses tonic immobility in animals as a survival mechanism and explores parallels in human and non-human primate behaviors involving ASC. Additionally, neurochemical pathways that govern ASC, such as serotonergic and dopaminergic regulation, are explored for their roles in promoting social behaviors, cognitive flexibility, and emotional regulation. Furthermore, the role of the default mode network is investigated in relation to psychotropic and mood altering substances and altered states of consciousness. This integrated perspective offers new insights into the origins of MBM and underscores the significance of ASC in both evolutionary and contemporary contexts.
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Bedeutungszuweisungen zu figürlichen Darstellungen aus dem Paläolithikum sind aus mehreren Gründen problematisch. Zum Ersten sind die Grundlage der Darstellungen – die Wahrnehmung der Tiere ebenso wie die Bedeutungszuweisung und deren Transformation in ein Bildnis – kulturell geprägte Performanzen. Zum Zweiten können Wahrnehmung und Bedeutungszuweisung situativ sehr unterschiedlich ausfallen; entsprechend können ähnliche Darstellungen als Repräsentanten mit unterschiedlichen Kontexten entstanden sein. Zum Dritten sind heutige Interpretationen der Wahrnehmungen, Bedeutungszuweisungen und gestalterischen Ausführungen paläolithischer Elfenbeinschnitzer*innen durch die Entwicklungen und die Umwelt unserer eigenen Wahrnehmung geprägt. Es stellt sich damit die Frage, wie weit intersubjektive Wahrnehmungen und damit ein Vordringen in altsteinzeitliche Weltbilder auf der Basis allein von Jahrtausenden vor unserer Zeit entstandenen bildlichen Darstellungen überhaupt möglich ist. Am Beispiel der Bedeutung von Löwendarstellungen werden diese Einwände genauer betrachtet.
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This narrative review aims to contribute to the scientific literature on awe by reviewing seven perspectives on the evolutionary function of awe. Each is presented with accompanying empirical evidence and suggestions for research investigating unanswered questions. Based on the existing perspectives, this review proposes an integrated evolutionary model of awe, postulating the evolutionary selection of awe through three adaptive domains: (1) social cooperation, (2) reflective processing, and (3) signaling suitability as a potential mate.
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Provides a cross-cultural and neurobiological assessment of the nature of shamanism.
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The book can be viewed as representing the birth of evolutionary biomusicology. What biological and cognitive forces have shaped humankind's musical behavior and the rich global repertoire of musical structures? What is music for, and why does every human culture have it? What are the universal features of music and musical behavior across cultures? In this groundbreaking book, musicologists, biologists, anthropologists, archaeologists, psychologists, neuroscientists, ethologists, and linguists come together for the first time to examine these and related issues. The book can be viewed as representing the birth of evolutionary biomusicology—the study of which will contribute greatly to our understanding of the evolutionary precursors of human music, the evolution of the hominid vocal tract, localization of brain function, the structure of acoustic-communication signals, symbolic gesture, emotional manipulation through sound, self-expression, creativity, the human affinity for the spiritual, and the human attachment to music itself. Contributors Simha Arom, Derek Bickerton, Steven Brown, Ellen Dissanayake, Dean Falk, David W. Frayer, Walter Freeman, Thomas Geissmann, Marc D. Hauser, Michel Imberty, Harry Jerison, Drago Kunej, François-Bernard Mâche, Peter Marler, Björn Merker, Geoffrey Miller, Jean Molino, Bruno Nettl, Chris Nicolay, Katharine Payne, Bruce Richman, Peter J.B. Slater, Peter Todd, Sandra Trehub, Ivan Turk, Maria Ujhelyi, Nils L. Wallin, Carol Whaling Bradford Books imprint