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

"On the Origins of the Arts" was reprinted from The Social Conquest of Earth by Edward O. Wilson. Copyright © 2012 by Edward O. Wilson. With the permission of the publisher, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

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

You might also like

Teaching Israel/Palestine at Harvard

Course probes the modern history of the Holy Land.

Harvard Education School Dean Appointed

Nonie K. Lesaux transitions from interim to permanent dean.

Harvard Goes Dancing

Crimson women’s basketball prepares for the NCAA tournament.

Most popular

Safe Streets

Working to curb road deaths

Bill Gates on AI and Innovation

At Harvard, the Microsoft co-founder discusses his biography—and artificial intelligence. 

Teaching Israel/Palestine at Harvard

Course probes the modern history of the Holy Land.

Explore More From Current Issue

Harvard's Tom Kane on Effective School Reforms

Tom Kane deploys data to help improve education.

Teen "Grind" Culture and Mental Health

Teens need better strategies to cope with lives lived partly online.

“AI Anxiety”

The Undergraduate on the uneasy collision of technology and writing