The earliest archetypal images with an implicit mythological narrative are presented: The Venus of Laussel – the earliest great mother archetype with an age of around 24,000 years; and the Fallen Shaman in the Paleolithic Cave of Lascaux at 16,000 years ago. The former is feminine-coded (nurture, nature, reproduction, love) and the latter is male-coded (gnosis or higher knowledge obtained through the individual quest, sacrifice and transcendence). These two great archetypes, synthesized, are needed now more than ever for our crisis -ridden age.

An account of a healing séance ceremony from a Siberian tribe opens the episode. Evidence of the shamans on the cave walls is given especially for the French caves of Lascaux, Trois Fréres, Gabillou, and Chauvet. The images in the “shaft” at the end of the Lascaux cave are highly enigmatic but a mythological interpretation is hinted at as it is one of the earliest archetypal representations of humanity and underlies many religions, spiritual movements, and also Jungian archetypal psychology.

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.