ArtsLookUp.com Logo

Cordiform Sign

Prehistoric Heart-Shaped Symbol
Upper Paleolithic cave art

Main A-Z Index

CONTENTS

Prehistoric Cordiform Sign, Heart-shaped Symbol
A Paleolithic cordiform pictograph. Image by Cave Signs Design. (CC BY-SA 4.0)

What is a Cordiform?

In prehistoric art, a "cordiform" is a curvilinear motif, shaped like a heart. Easy to draw, it consists of a single continuous line which artists probably executed with one stroke of a brush.

It is one of 32 abstract signs documented by sign-expert Genevieve von Petzinger, which are found in Upper Paleolithic art between 40,000 and 10,000 BC.

It has nothing to do with the cordiform biface hand axes that were common in both the Acheulean and the Mousterian periods of the Lower and Middle Paleolithic.

Prevalence

"Cordiform symbols" are extremely rare. According to Petzinger, they are present in only three French paleolithic caves of the Upper Paleolithic, or less than 2 percent of the total.

Other rare cave signs include: Pectiforms (5.2%), Reniforms (2%), Scalariforms (2%), and Spirals (1.3%).

When Did Cordiforms First Appear?

In France, "cordiforms" first appear during the second half of the Aurignacian period (40,000-30,000 BC). The next two instances occurred many years later, during the Magdalenian period (15,000-10,000 BC).

Back to top

Which Caves Contain Cordiforms?

The three caves with cordiform symbols are:

Petzinger, who is in the process of systematically cataloguing the main 32 abstract pictographs into a master database, explains that with only 3 sites in two different periods twenty thousand years apart, this dataset is too small to support any meaningful conclusions.

The fact that two of the sites are neighbours in the Ardèche, is mere coincidence, not least because Chauvet was sealed off completely by a rockfall before 20,000 BC. So its influence on the cave artists at Grotte Planchard would have been non-existent.

For more about the evolution of cave painting, see: Prehistoric Art Timeline (from 540,000 BC).

What Do Prehistoric Signs Mean?

Cordiform patterns and motifs are relatively common in nature, in the form of fruits, flowers, leaves, and plants. Perhaps these natural forms inspired the man-made signs in the caves.

As things stand, paleoanthropologists have no idea about the meaning of cordiforms, or indeed any of the 32 signs found in cave art of the time. In a way, it is hardly surprising, given the time lapse.

Even so, there are lots of hypotheses about the purpose of these cave symbols. One such theory, advanced by the eminent South African scholar David Lewis-Williams, professor of cognitive archaeology, proposes a neuropsychological interpretation for some of the symbols.

Lewis-Williams considers it possible that at least some symbols were created during an altered state of consciousness: that is, produced during or after hallucinogenic trips, perhaps as part of shamanic rituals.

In their 1988 study, Lewis-Williams and Dowson identified six forms of entoptic imagery - visual phenomena experienced by humans during an altered state of mind. These images are probably seen by all subjects due to universality of the human nerve system.

They include: dots, zigzag lines, parallel lines, grid patterns, nested catenary curves and infinity patterns. Such entoptic motifs can be found in Cosco and San rock art, in both painted and engraved imagery.

In addition, other studies into the use of hallucinogenic drugs show that such substances can induce linear, curvilinear and spiral patterns, or other psychedelic imagery, some of which is similar to abstract images seen in paleolithic art during the last ice age art.

Related Articles

For details of other rare cave signs and geometric symbols, see the following articles:

References

(1) "The First Signs: Unlocking the Mysteries of the World's Oldest Symbols." Genevieve von Petzinger. Atria; Illustrated edition (28 Mar. 2017) ISBN-10: 1476785503. ISBN-13: 978-1476785509.
(2) "The Signs of All Times: Entoptic Phenomena in Upper Palaeolithic Art." David Lewis-Williams, T. A. Dowson. April 1988, Current Anthropology 29(2).

Back to top

Home