"Lowell always said that the regularity of the canals was an unmistakable sign that they were of intelligent origin. This is certainly true. The only unresolved question was which side of the telescope the intelligence was on."
Sagan 1980:110
On which side of our analysis of the prehistoric art is "meaning"?
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Notes:
The Martian parable
"Lowell always said that the regularity of the canals was
an unmistakable sign that they were of intelligent origin. This
is certainly true. The only unresolved question was which side
of the telescope the intelligence was on."
Sagan 1980:110
This "Martian parable" is a global illustration of the specific question of whose meaning emerges from our own analysis of the artistic representations of people who have been dead for hundreds of years. We need to be cautious that the interpretation is not solely our own constructed reality, but is an interpretation that at least makes an effort to assess the fit of our constructions to the objective features shown in the art.