Cave art
Two recently published archaeology books, mainly or partially concerning cave art, show a set of inaccuracies which doesn’t seem acceptable, not only for a specialised scientific level, but also for an educational one. The lack of a review process performed by professional archaeologists demonstrates the weakness in Italy, and not only, of the archaeologist profession, particularly in the prehistoric and rock art fields.
by R.C. de Marinis
Prehistory popularisation: a de profundis?
by Raffaele Carlo de Marinis Senior Full Professor di Preistoria e Protostoria, Dipartimento Beni Culturali e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Festa del Perdono 7, 20122 Milano. raffaele.demarinis@unimi.it
Two recently published archaeology books (ACZEL 2010; CAVALLI SFORZA, PIEVANI 2011), mainly or partially concerning cave art, show a set of inaccuracies which doesn’t seem acceptable, not only for a specialised scientific level, but also for an educational one.
The lack of a review process performed by professional archaeologists demonstrates the weakness in Italy, and not only, of the archaeologist profession, particularly in the prehistoric and rock art fields.
This situation is clearly enlighted by a recent paper published by prof. R.C. de Marinis, a leading prehistoric archaeologist, in the Italian Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche (Prehistoric Sciences Review; DE MARINIS 2013):
DE MARINIS R.C., 2013, De Profundis per la divulgazione scientifica in campo preistorico e protostorico, Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche, LXIII, pp. 255-263
You may read it (Italian text) in this TRACCE issue directly in the window below; download is also available.
Bibliography ACZEL A.D., 2010, Le cattedrali della preistoria. Il significato dell’arte rupestre, Milano (Italian edition of ACZEL A.D., 2009, The Cave and the Cathedral. How a Real-Life Indiana Jones and a Renegade Scholar Decoded the Ancient Art of Man, New Jersey). CAVALLI SFORZA L.L. PIEVANI T, 2011, Homo sapiens. La grande storia della diversità umana, catalogo della mostra (Roma, 11 novembre 2011-12 febbraio 2012), Torino
An interesting article, to ponder.