The Upper Paleolithic, that is the period dated from around 50-11 thousand years ago, reflects a period of cultural, behavioral and technological change that distinguishes modern humans from earlier homo species.

Four examples of the earliest archetypal images, beliefs, and practices are given and for which we have hard evidence taking us back many tens of thousands years deep into the last ice age. These are 1. burial practices; 2. images of the Great Mother; 3. cave paintings, rock-art, figurines, and statues; 4. shamanism. Their relevance to the contemporary world is indicated - a theme of great importance and to be taken up as this mini-series progresses.

This episode explores:

The first archetypal images of humanity for which we have evidence.

The areas of the world where this evidence is found: South Africa, Indonesia, India, Australia, the Americas, Siberia. We leave the famous cave paintings of France and Spain until next episode.

The dates of the cave painting and rock art that have survived and recently been discovered. These stretch back into pre-history for tens of thousands of years.

What are the links between these early images and shamanism?

The ten archetypes underlying the book "Archetypes at Work" have an astrological basis in the ten heavenly bodies (including sun and moon) in our solar system - each with their archetypal nature and their influence upon human character and destiny ... "the planets are around us and in us". Dr Laurence Hillman explains how at birth a unique blueprint forms the basis of human character and this is laid out in the astrological map - the configuration of the planets at this unique point in time. Also explained are planetary conjunctions, oppositions and the like. Further explained are personal and world transits in which planetary configurations at later points in one's life or in the history of civilizations are shown to have deep influence. Aligning oneself to one's true nature is vital. A deeply informative and enriching interview.