Mapping Hercules - A Geographic Teaching Tool - American Assoc of Geographers 2023 Annual Meeting

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Hunter-gatherer and ancient peoples are globally recorded as teaching their cultural history through a structurally common narrative. American mythologist Joseph Campbell provides global examples of such a central character, or hero, on a journey or adventure. The central character in this narrative encounters other beings, both real and supernatural, that either support or challenge the individual. Each culture carries with them their own regionally unique characters and geographical sites that reinforce the narrative. The supernatural characters are either a mix of a human and another animal or an animal that has the means to communicate with the central character. Both give the central character special non-human abilities to complete the journey.

The archeological evidence and mythological literature consistently report that hunter-gatherer and ancient peoples had traditions of projecting these supernatural characters from regionally unique animals, their landscapes and the night sky to designate time and space. The projection of characters from known geological formations and the night sky gave the impression of gigantic beings and reinforces a recognizable reality in the narrative. The global observance of such animistic characters in the landscapes and night sky indicates prehistoric roots.

This paper takes the student on a journey deep in Upper Paleolithic Europe that surfaces real and supernatural characters, geographical features and motifs, some that may be recognized from literature classes and movies. The structural characteristics of the journey can be reapplied to regional indigenous sacred narratives and ancient myths to teach geographical uniqueness and the cosmic view of the original educator.

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