Editorial Reviews
Book Description
This book includes an updated reprint of the popular Desperately Seeking Trance Plants: Testing the "Three Stages of Trance" Model, as well as a number of new challenges to the model often referred to as a Neuropsychological or Shamanic Model. Some of these papers have been included in other publications such as the Cambridge Archaeological Journal, and many, including a chapter documenting the misuse of several historical ethnographic sources by some North American TST proponents, have never been published before. Taken as a whole they provide a systematic and detailed refutation of the TST model with respect to its applicability to Palaeolithic Cave Art, as well as to the rock art of Native Americans of the far western United States, and the South African San.
From the Publisher
Waking the Trance Fixed by Patricia A. Helvenston and Paul G. Bahn.
Louisville: Wasteland Press (2005)
Reviewed by Derek Hodgson
One of the peculiarities of Palaeolithic art has been its capacity to inspire a succession of theories, each claiming to have solved the mystery contained in its strange shapes and forms. This, unfortunately, has led to a situation where many ad hoc, ill-informed accounts are given undue attention in both academic and not so academic circles. Considering the failure of nearly every one of these attempts to account for the facts, one would have thought that the word might have got around by now that there is no Palaeolithic "Rosetta Stone" to be had. This, however, seems not to be the case, as is testified by the latest version of this kind of speculation, namely Lewis-Williams and Dowson's shamanic Three-Stages of Trance model, which Helvenston and Bahn, in "Waking the Trance Fixed", set out in a precise and systematic manner to refute. This collection of previously published and unpublished criticisms of Lewis-Williams and Dowson's position, vividly describes the twists and! turns of the debate and casts some welcome light on to a controversial and much contested subject. Helvenston and Bahn have the advantage of being foremost experts, in neuropsychology and rock art respectively, and are therefore able to discuss the underlying issues with great perspicuity. By returning to original sources, the authors reveal how important texts and documents have been misrepresented leading to a biased reading of the data with all the distortions that this implies. From a position of undoubted authority, they show why Lewis-Williams and Dowson's model came to prominence, the reasons for its acceptance, and how the purported neuropsychological and archaeological evidence has been misapplied both to palaeoart and rock art more generally.
One of the main criticisms concerns a general lack of understanding of the complexities involved that has led to, and perpetuated, a confused and limited understanding of the major issues. For example, Lewis-Williams and Dowson conflate the different kinds of mind-altering drugs with their psychological effects. An error compounded by an inadequate account of what constitutes an altered state consciousness (of which there are seventy different kinds) and the diverse range of subjective experiences that can accompany them. Moreover, there may be many predisposing factors that produce such an altered state, of which shamanic trance may be but one. Depending on how these altered states are induced, different parts of the brain will be stimulated leading to different kinds of experience, none of which induce the notorious three-stages of trance. Crucially, altered states of consciousness, generated by such things as sensory deprivation, fasting, and "bad air" do not appear to produce the geometric imagery central to this debate. Rather, this imagery seems to be the exclusive preserve of psilocybin, mescaline and LSD which, again, do not necessarily involve the three stages favoured by Lewis-Williams and Dowson. More seriously, because these substances were unavailable to Palaeolithic people, the chances that the geometrics of Palaeolithic art were inspired by the trance states of shamanism turns out to be close to zero.
Another major criticism is that shamanism is applied without discrimination to a broad range of different groups. As Helvenston and Bahn point out, rather than one common definition applied arbitrarily, shamanism should be seen against the prevailing cultural norms. In this respect, it is important the myths, customs, and rituals of a community, are given due regard, which may be more relevant in determining the subject matter of art than shamanism per se. Indeed, Lewis-Williams and Dowson's primary ethnographic example, the San, may be more influenced by such factors of which shamanism could be just one example. The fact that we are unable to determine whether shamanism had any direct connection with San art further disqualifies any comparisons between San and Palaeolithic communities. We may, however, the authors suggest, be on safer ground in attributing some mythic tendencies to palaeoart based on a "religious" striving, the exact nature of which has yet to be ascertained.
In what should become a classic of its kind, the hazards of applying ethnographic comparisons carelessly and prescriptively are beautifully illustrated in Chapter 7, where Whitley's shamanistic analysis of Native American Rock Art is laid bare. Whitley, a convert to Lewis-Williams and Dowson's model, attempts to illustrate how the shamanic proposition can be usefully applied to the art of indigenous groups such as the Coso Shoshone. The original documentation on this issue, it seems, remains silent or, alternatively, can be interpreted as referring to mythic thinking that determines the content of dreams, initiation ceremonies, healing rituals and the like, all of which Whitley ignores. By supporting Keyser and Whitley's claim that documentary evidence does exist for shamans producing rock art, thereby contradicting Kehoe, Helvenston and Bahn's integrity and fairness in these matters is aptly demonstrated. Having said this, the authors continue to maintain that such evidence! is restricted to one or two examples and there is, nevertheless, still no ethnographic data that directly connects rock art to trance.
The final chapter is a withering indictment by Bahn on Lewis-Williams's competence to comment on Palaeolithic art. By drawing attention to some glaring inaccuracies and omissions contained in Lewis-Williams' "The Mind in the Cave", Bahn shows how inattention to detail can be construed as symptomatic of failings on a more theoretical level. This disregard is all too obvious in relation to neuropsychological terminology, which Helvenston and Bahn provide a valuable service in correcting by defining entoptics, phosphenes, form constants, geometrics and hallucinations with reference to the various processing stages of the visual hierarchy. Because neuropsychology deals with subtle nuances of meaning, it is absolutely essential that these terms are clearly and unambiguously defined, as the lack of precision has often led to much of the debate being conducted at cross purposes. Helvenston's authority on such matters is underscored by the fact that she personally knew Klüver and was intimately acquainted with his work. As Lewis-Williams and Dowson place great emphasis on, and misrepresent, Klüver's research, this throws into sharp relief the difference between their highly selective and superficial reading of the data compared to Helvenston's more informed understanding.
The authors conclude that the preoccupation of the archaeological community with Lewis-Williams and Dowson's theory has seriously undermined the study of Palaeolithic art. They suggest that this partially stems from the recent fashion for New Age philosophies with the associated obsession with shamanism that the media has latched onto. Richard Dawkins might call this a "bad meme" that has infected the minds of archaeologists and public alike - a meme which Helvenston and Bahn have so eloquently exorcised. "Waking the Trance Fixed" should stand as a warning to all archaeologists and anthropologists who would turn to neuropsychology to prop up their theories and is a long overdue antidote to the shamanic "neuropsychological" trance model. For those who wish to gain a proper understanding of the complexities and intricacies of the issues involved, Helvenston and Bahn's book is an indispensable read.
Waking the Trance Fixed,Patricia A. Helvenston,Paul G. Bahn,Wasteland Press,1933265191,General,Science,Science/Mathematics
Discount Books:
Recommended Books