The Center for the Study of Origins is pleased to announce a lecture by Visiting Scholar Dr. Paul Harris, from Loyola Marymount University, on Tuesday, November 5th, at 5pm, in the British and Irish Studies Room (Norlin Library).   

Title: The Classical Labyrinth: Drawn Since the Dawn of SymbolizationPaul Harris

Abstract: The ‘Cretan’ or ‘classical’ labyrinth is a 7-circuit pattern that is uniquely ubiquitous in human history, having been found at ancient sites on every inhabited continent. The pattern occurs in a variety of forms and media including petroglyphs, coins, pottery, and rocks laid out to form a walking labyrinth. The 7-circuit labyrinth is also singular because it is a replicable sign drawn from its ‘seed,’ according to a recognized formula. The seed serves as an encoded instruction or syntax of composition, marking the labyrinth as a symbol circulating in a communal syntax of natural language shared across cultures. Morphological homologies between drawing the labyrinth and early writing practices inform a speculative view of the labyrinth, as a specific inscription ‘drawn since the dawn of symbolization,’ as a potential origin of writing.

Email originsinfo@colorado.edu with any questions.