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Archetypal Landscapes and the Interpretation of Meaning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2008

Ronald J. Nash
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and AnthropologySt Francis Xavier UniversityP.O. Box 5000Antigonish Nova ScotiaCanadaB2G 2W5

Extract

Carl Jung's analytic ideas on archetypes offer an approach to interpreting ancient meanings in the absence of historic records. The archetypes of the collective unconscious are said to maintain a uniformitarian consistency over time in form and meaning. Their recurrent expression in the vernacular arts, dreams, even film of recent times permits exploration of these same archetypes in ancient contexts. The theory is discussed and applied to three landscapes, archetypal landscapes of glacial wasteland, primordial sea and forest labyrinth.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research 1997

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