Why does humanity create art

Making music is a universal human trait that goes back to at least 35, years ago. Explore the evidence for some of the world's earliest musical instruments. Explore rock art made by modern humans from around the world using the early crayons and other art implements shown here. Skip to main content. Modern humans created decorated objects using a variety of techniques. Chickens, chimpanzees, and you - what do they have in common?

On the other hand, art can give meaning to the concept of death. Egyptians mummified individuals and laid them to rest in magnificent tombs, while present-day humans place loved ones in the ground or in mausoleums and decorate that resting place with plaques, memorials and flowers.

El Dia de los Muertos celebrates the passing of loved ones and remembers them through visitations, offerings and the belief that their souls remain near. These cultural practices, combined with our scientific understanding, allow us to process life and death more holistically. Is it fair or even justified to separate art from the sciences? Leonardo Da Vinci best captured the relationship of the two in his claim that they are separate but intertwining paths that lead one to the same end: knowledge.

Art should be included and the focus should change. We can do better than that. We must. Art is the key. In keeping with its commitment to excellence in the arts, TCC offers a variety of opportunities to enjoy dance, drama, music and visual arts exhibits each semester.

Art is a quality control mechanism of effective survival strategies. When we are drawn to a work of art, when we label such a work as beautiful, touching, or inspiring, we, in effect, filter through our senses and cognition the survival effectiveness of the art form we experience:.

There is virtually no evidence that artworks activate emotion areas distinct from those involved in appraising everyday objects important for survival. The most reasonable evolutionary hypothesis is that the aesthetic system of the brain evolved first for the appraisal of objects of biological importance, including food sources and suitable mates, and was later co-opted for artworks such as paintings and music.

How does the brain appreciate art? Art as a device to enhance our survival is key to our continued existence in a profoundly technological world. Art can act as the bridge between a deeply altered world and humanity; it can deliver the means to a better understanding and control of our ecosystem; and it can provide the seeds to a thriving humanity in a machine-dominated world.

What does it mean for education? It means an overhaul of our education system, so that art penetrates every nook and cranny of that system. Art has a place in the humanities of course, but also in the STEM disciplines , in medicine, and in business. It means understanding art as a biologically driven simulation, innovation and manufacturing mechanism that can further our individual and collective existence.

It means that the teaching of art as a cognitive and survival-enhancing system must be ubiquitous. For thousands of years now, we have considered art as this extraordinary phenomenon, the ultimate proof of our uniqueness. Art is the expression of the beautiful complexity of the human character, its depth, its richness, its desire to question, understand and be moved.

There is no denying the power of art, its ability to further our understanding of the world. But if art enriches our lives it is mainly because it is a fantastic survival system, one that allows us to explore new survival structures and then disseminate them to the entire species through emotional means.

In this new, remodeled world, art is one of the most effective means of extending ourselves in time and space. The evidence ranges from fantastic cave paintings and elaborate graves to the first fishing equipment and sturdy huts.

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It spreads prosocial values, the likeliest to appeal to both tellers and listeners. It develops our capacity to see from different perspectives, and this capacity in turn both arises from and aids the evolution of cooperation and the growth of human mental flexibility.

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