“Don’t take the brown acid, it’s bad” Does anyone remember Wavy Gravy’s announcement at Woodstock? This came to mind as I read a silly recent article from a team of Israeli rock art researchers. It explained that Paleolithic artists placed their artistic masterpieces so deep in caves because they were inspired by the effects of brain hypoxia. Brain hypoxia is the condition resulting from insufficient oxygen being delivered to the brain by the bloodstream.
According to Healthline.com: “Brain hypoxia symptoms range from mild to severe. Mild symptoms include: Temporary memory loss, Reduced ability to move your body, Difficulty paying attention, and Difficulty making sound decisions. Severe symptoms include: Seizure, Coma, Brain death.” (Badii 2018) What on this list sounds like creativity? Creative production in the visual arts not only requires physical activity and a great deal of dexterity, precision and coordination, it is a rigorous mental activity that requires decision making, judgement, memory, and concentration, exactly the opposite of the effects of hypoxia. Yet this is exactly what a recent Israeli study claims.
"The study explains why so many ancient paintings are deep inside cave system(s). Prehistoric cave dwellers living in Europe purposefully starved themselves of oxygen to hallucinate while creating their decorative wall paintings, a groundbreaking new study has found. Researchers have been questioning for years why so many of the world's oldest paintings were located in often pitch-black tunnel systems, far away from cave entrances. But a recent study by Tel Aviv University now reveals that the location was deliberate because it induced oxygen deprivation and caused cavemen to experience a state called hypoxia." (Ankel 2021)
It is true that psychedelic hallucinations were associated with some art in the late 60s and 70s but this was usually the psychedelic art associated with the Hippies or high abstract expressionism. No realist painter would have been helped by the effects of psychedelics, let alone hypoxia.
"'People have always been fascinated by caves. Underground cavities and hollows in mountains played a special role in the ontology and cosmology of indigenous societies, past and present' Yafit Kedar, a PhD candidate in the Department of Archaeology and Near Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University explained. Kedar's research focuses on understanding the implications of smoke dispersal and air circulation on humans at Paleolithic caves and rock shelters." (Tercatin 2021)
"According to Ran Barkai, the co-author of the study, the cavemen used fire to light up the caves, which would simultaneously also reduce oxygen levels. Painting in these conditions was done deliberately and as a means of connecting to the cosmos, the researcher says. 'It was used to get connected with things,' Barkai stated, adding that the cave painters often though of the rock face as a portal connecting their world with the underworld, which was associated with prosperity and growth. The researcher also suggested that cave paintings could have been used as part of a kind of initiation rite." (Ankel 2021)
"'The natural oxygen concentration in the atmosphere is 21%.' Kedar explained. ' A lower concentration of oxygen creates a condition known as hypoxia.' Hypoxia officially occurs when the oxygen concentration is below 18%. Its symptoms, the researchers pointed out, include dizziness and headaches but also euphoria and an increase in the release of dopamine - which can lead to hallucinations and out-of-the-body experiences, especially if the level of oxygen drops below 14.5%." (Tercatin 2021)
This statement is erroneous, these figures are far from absolute. They state that hypoxia occurs as oxygen concentration is below 18%. The effective oxygen concentration in Boulder, Colorado is 17.3%. I have lived in Boulder and went to graduate school there and functioned just fine. The effective oxygen concentration in Aspen, Colorado is 15.4% and I, and most other people do just fine in Aspen. The authors say that there will be "hallucinations and out-of-body-experiences" if oxygen drops below 14.5%. The effective oxygen concentration at the altitude of Leadville, Colorado is 14.3%. I have been to Leadville and done just fine. I know artists in Leadville who paint very well without "hallucinations and out-of-body-experiences."
I believe that the authors of this so-called scientific study came up with their theory of oxygen deprivation prompting the paintings in the far depths of caves and then pushed it to what they saw (or wanted to see) as its logical conclusions, without referencing it to the reality of facts, ending up going down their own imaginative cave with Alice and the Cheshire Cat, not based in the real world.
Indeed, that the authors may have had some reservations in their theory is suggested by this statement from the discussion section of their paper. “It is also possible that people who are accustomed to the alternate states of consciousness induced by hypoxia could become somewhat inured, with the symptoms decreasing after recurrent visits to the cave. Perhaps these people retained their ability to perform some of the practical tasks associated with their endeavor, such as building scaffolding, guiding others, or executing the depictions, while less experienced visitors to the cave would have been much more severely affected.” (Kedar et al. 2021)
I would like to suggest to them a different interpretation of their story which might be more plausible. The quality of the fine art itself disproves their theory as stated so we can assume that one or a few artists with their small oil lamps did not use up so much oxygen that they went into hypoxia when the art was being created. If, however, a larger number of people gathered together there with their larger number of light sources, then the oxygen might have been depleted by the larger crowd. If they gathered there for some sort of ceremonial purpose that included the art as a background, then perhaps the audience may have experienced mild hallucinations from hypoxia. This would enhance the experience and the effects of the art. So, not for the artists, but for the audience, this theory might make a little more sense - but note, this is not what the authors claimed.
I am aware that this whole argument is a little simplistic and overlooks variables like the human body adapting to various environments, but, I would argue, their whole premise is even more simplistic and I just cannot buy it.
NOTE: Images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
Ankel, Sophia, 2021, Prehistoric Cavemen Starved Themselves of Oxygen to Induce Hallucinations and Inspire Their Ancient Paintings, Study Finds, April 11, 2021, https://news.yahoo.com
Badii, Chitra, Brain Hypoxia, September 29, 2018, medically reviewed by Seunggu Han, M.D., https://www.healthline.com/health/cerebral-hypoxia#symptoms
Kedar, Yafit, Gil Kedar and Ran Barkai, 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 (Journal), DOI:10.1080/1751696X.2021.1903177
Tercatin, Rossella, 2021, Stoned in the Stone Age: Prehistoric Humans Got High - Israeli Scholars, April 8, 2021, The Jerusalem Post
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