Zitationsvorschlag
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Dieses Werk steht unter der Lizenz Creative Commons Namensnennung - Weitergabe unter gleichen Bedingungen 4.0 International.
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The Lady and the "Lionmen"
An Experimental Study in Body Language of the Upper Palaeolithic Anthropomorphic Figurines of Hohle Fels Cave, Hohlenstein-Stadel Cave and Geissenklösterle Cave, Swabian Jura
Abstract All known anthropomorphic figurines from the Upper Palaeolithic display specific postures: they show body language. In 2010 / 11, an experimental study was conducted involving a group of twelve professional German actors and an independent group of four Vietnamese students.
This empirical approach – intended as a first step towards a more representative study – uses one of the traditional practices of professional acting to break down the enigma of a character into discernible communicational building blocks. The results around the emotional significance of the figurines were strikingly consistent between both groups. They generally underline mainstream academic interpretation of the Aurignacian figurines as representations of power and dominance (Hahn 1986). The analysis of the figurines’ gestural composition though, allows some divergent or hitherto overlooked information to be gathered. The paper concentrates on the results given for the anthropomorphic figurines of Hohle Fels, Hohlenstein-Stadel and Geissenklösterle, three caves in the Swabian Jura, Germany.
Keywords body language, Upper Palaeolithic, anthropomorphic figurines, experiment, female figurine, Lionman, Adorant, Hohle Fels, Geissenklösterle, Hohlenstein-Stadel
