The Prehistory of Myths: When Science Traces Back the Thread of Time

Speaker(s): Julien d’Huy
Duration: 48 min

Can myths preserve the memory of humanity’s earliest beginnings? Drawing on narratives associated with fire, historian and mythologist Julien d’Huy explores the traces myths have left across millennia.

Bringing together archaeology, anthropology, linguistics, and the comparative study of narratives, he presents the methods used to trace the circulation, transformation, and sometimes even the reconstruction of very ancient myths. From the earliest uses of fire to the great migrations of humankind, his presentation examines how certain stories may have accompanied the movements of Homo sapiens and traveled across continents.

Drawing on phylo-mythology, an approach inspired by models of biological evolution, Julien d’Huy proposes a journey back through time to explore what narratives can reveal about the imaginaries of prehistoric societies and the deep origins of mythological motifs that remain present today.

Environment
Social issues
Mythological

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