Updated 3.3.2014

On the Origins of the Arts

Sociobiologist E.O. Wilson on the evolution of culture

The human urge to create art appears magnificently in the Paleolithic paintings from roughly 30,000 years ago at Chauvet Cave, in southern France. Here, the Panel of the Horses.

A bison, shown in twisted perspective; the doubling of the hindquarters and the extra legs may depict the animal running, or two bison side by side.

The Lion Panel, with bison (the lions’ likely prey), a young mammoth, and rhinoceros

Red bear

One rhinoceros from a group of 17

Dear Reader:

The text excerpted here was posted with permission of W.W. Norton, but that permission has since expired and the text has been taken down.

Read a Harvard Magazine profile of E.O. Wilson here.

Thank you for visiting.

Click here for the May-June 2012 issue table of contents

Sub topics

Humanities & Arts

Science & Technology

Faculty & Research

You might also like

Space shuttle view outside the Earth

This Astronomer is Sounding a Warning on 'Space Junk'

As debris accumulates in low Earth orbit, the danger of destructive collisions continues to rise.

Isaac Kohlberg

Isaac Kohlberg to Step Down as Head of Harvard Technology Development

Partnerships and licensing office could become more critical as funding cuts loom

An illustration of a green leaf being hit by a beam of light and bouncing off the leaf and then becoming a color prisim

A Space-Age Project for Harvard’s Plant Collection

Light-based analysis of botanical collections link plants to Earth’s changing climate.

Most popular

Scales of justice and a gavel resting on open law books with a blurred courtroom background.

In Federal Court, Harvard and the Government Have Friends

A look at the amicus curiae briefs in Harvard’s funding case

The “Veritas” motto etched into stone atop the 1875 gate into Harvard Yard

Trump Administration Alleges Harvard Violated Student Civil Rights

In a court filing, the University says government has ignored procedure to “inflict pain.”

John C.P. Goldberg in a space with columns

John Goldberg named Dean of Harvard Law School

A professor at HLS since 2008, he steps up from the interim role.

Explore More From Current Issue

David Leo Rice

David Leo Rice on 'The Berlin Wall'

David Leo Rice explores the strange, unseen forces shaping our world.

Colorful glass bottles and nautical trinkets line a window shelf, with a ship in a bottle as the centerpiece.

Harvard Squared

Walter Wick’s I Spy Series

I Spy Creator Walter Wick at the Norman Rockwell Museum

A woman and a horse jump off a large platform into water

The Woman Who Rode Horses Into the Water

Scrapbooking a woman who rode horses into the sea