These videos set out in an entertaining and accessible way recent approaches to understanding the first visual cultures, including cave art, from the unique perspective of neuroscience, visual psychology, and new technological advances in recording and analyzing graphic images based on over two decades of my own research. The aim of the videos is to provide an informal summary of research into rock art by exploiting artificial intelligence that can lead to a better appreciation of the subject by the general public. Each video is based on one of my own published papers, which are cited after each video description.

This video shows how the perplexing features of Franco-Cantabrian cave art-created by Upper Palaeolithic communities-can be better understood through the lens of visual neuroscience and perceptual psychology. Rather than viewing these artworks as static representations, Hodgson suggests they reflect dynamic perceptual experiences shaped by environmental stimuli and cognitive processes. He demonstrates how the seemingly anomalous or contradictory aspects of cave art (e.g. distorted proportions, overlapping figures) are not flaws but intentional features that reveal how ancient humans perceived and interacted with their visual world. Certain visual cues in cave environments-like undulating rock surfaces or dim lighting-may have triggered psychological effects that influenced image creation, such as pareidolia (seeing patterns or faces in random stimuli) or hyperimagery, where visual perception is heightened or altered, allowing ancient artists to tap into deeper cognitive and emotional states during the creative process. The paper was ground-breaking in applying modern cognitive science to prehistoric art, inspiring experimental studies that validated Hodgson’s theories. It shifted the focus from symbolic interpretation to experiential and neurovisual understanding of early human creativity.

Hodgson, D. 2008 The Visual Dynamics of Upper Palaeolithic Art. Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 18 (3): 341-353.
[ Link ]

This episode explores how visual imagery, the cave environment, and cultural factors acted together that led to a better understanding of the emergence of Upper Palaeolithic cave art. The paper critically examines the concept of pareidolia, questioning its reliability as a tool for identifying and interpreting rock art, due to its roots in fundamental human visual heuristics that can lead to misinterpretation. It introduces the concept of 'hyperdolia', which enhances interpretation by considering evolutionary, psychological, and socio-cultural priming factors in the perception of imagery.

The research highlights distinctions between pareidolia, hyperdolia/hyperimages and broader forms of projective mental imagery, emphasizing their implications for more reliable identification and analysis of Upper Palaeolithic depictions and rock art. Findings aim to provide a more nuanced understanding of visual perception processes to improve methodologies in archaeological and palaeoart research.

Hodgson, D. 2023. Seeing Beyond Pareidolia: Implications for Palaeoart. Rock Art Research.40(2).
[ Link ]

In this video we will reveal how our early ancestors regarded the making and finding of animal depictions in the caves as magical. Hodgson proposes that Upper Palaeolithic cave art was not merely symbolic or decorative—it was a perceptual and cognitive quest to uncover “magical” images embedded in the natural contours of cave walls. These artworks emerged from a dynamic interaction between the human visual system and the cave environment. Pareidolia and hyperdolia acted as visual triggers where cave artists may have perceived animal shapes or figures in the irregular surfaces of cave walls, similar to how we see faces in clouds. These triggers inspired the placement and form of the art. The act of revealing hidden images may have been imbued with spiritual or magical significance, suggesting a belief that these forms were already present and merely “uncovered” by the artist. The creation of art was a multisensory experience—movement, light, and touch all played roles in shaping the final image. This aligns with theories of embodied cognition, where perception is shaped by physical interaction with the environment. Thus, early humans’ heightened sensitivity to animal forms (due to hunting and survival) may have influenced their artistic choices. Traditional interpretations that rely solely on symbolism or shamanism are challenged, by offering a visually grounded alternative rooted in perceptual psychology.

Hodgson, D. 2020. Upper Palaeolithic art as a perceptual search for magical images. Time and Mind. doi:
[ Link ]

Contact: dehogson@googlemail.com

Listed on research websites:

• https://www.researchgate.net
• https://independent.academia.edu
• https://scholar.google.co.uk

Academic Identifiers:

• Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1509-3732
• Web of Science ID: AAI-3875-2020

Academic Impact:

• Web of Science: H-index,14
• Orcid/Scorpus: H-index,13
• ResearchGate: H-index,19
• Google Scholar: H-index, 20
• Google Scholar citations: 1,467

Personal Research Webpage:

• https://sites.google.com

Recent Academic Positions:

Research Associate at Dept. of Archaeololgy, University of York from 2006 to 2019 investigating the implications of neuroscience for cognitive evolution, archaeology, and anthropology.

From 2019 to 2024: Scientific Advisor for Inscribe (European Research Council). https://site.unibo.it/inscribe/en

Other Activities:

Contibutor to the ten year Lucy to Language project: The archaeology of the social brain. (2003-2010: British Academy Centenary Research Project).

Research Interests:

Research interests include understanding the archaeological record from the perspective of evolutionary psychology, paleoneurology,and neuro-psychology/archaeology through examining the structure of the brain and associated cognitive processes. Also interested in examining the ways in which the modern human brain differs from nonhuman primates in order to determine the evolution of cognitive abilities in hominins. Palaeolithic art and lithics are also of special interest, which are analysed by applying the findings of the above disciplines as well as the psychology of visual perception.

Journal Papers:

Hodgson. D. 2000. Art, Perception and Information Processing: An Evolutionary Perspective. Rock Art Research. 17 (1): 3-34. [ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2000. Shamanism, Phosphenes, and Early Art: An Alternative Synthesis. Current Anthropology. 41 (5): 866-873.
Hodgson. D. 2002. Canonical perspective and typical features in children's drawings: A neuroscientific appraisal. British Journal of Developmental Psychology. 20 (4): 565-579.
[ Link ]
Hodgson. D. 2003. Seeing the “Unseen”: Fragmented Cues and the Implicit in Palaeolithic Art. Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 13 (1): 97-106.
Hodgson. D. 2003.The Biological Foundations of Upper Palaeolithic Art: Stimulus. Percept and Representational Imperatives. Rock Art Research. 20 (1): 3-22.
Hodgson, D. 2004. Ways of Seeing - The Innocent Eye, Individual View and Visual Realism in Art. Journal of Consciousness Studies. 11 (12): 3-16. [ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2005. Graphic Primitives and the Embedded Figure in 20th Century Art: Insights from Neuroscience, Ethology and Perception. Leonardo. 38 (1): 55-58. [ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2006. Altered States of Consciousness and Palaeoart: An Alternative Neurovisual Explanation. Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 16: (1): 27-37.
Hodgson, D. 2006. Understanding the Origins of Palaeoart: The Neurovisual Resonance Theory and Brain Functioning. Paleoanthropology [ Link ]
Hodgson. D. 2006. Tracings of the mind: the role of hallucinations, pseudohallucinations and visual imagery in Franco-Cantabrian cave art. Anthroglobe.
[ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2008. An "aesthetic" explanation for the symmetry of Acheulian handaxes: some neuropsychological insights. Plastir. 12 (Sept.)
[ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2008 The Visual Dynamics of Upper Palaeolithic Art. Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 18 (3): 341-353. Available at: [ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2009. Evolution of the visual cortex and the emergence of symmetry in the Acheulean techno-complex. C.R. Palevol. 8: 93-97. [ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2010. Determining the behavioural profile of early modern humans: assimilating population dynamics and cognitive abilities. Before Farming. 2 (1).
[ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2010. Another side of symmetry: the Acheulean biface debate. Antiquity. 085(325). Available from: [ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2011. The First Appearance of Symmetry in the Human Lineage: Where Perception Meets Art. MDPI Symmetry. 3(1), 37-53; doi:10.3390/sym3010037
Hodgson, D. 2012. Hominin Tool Production, Neural Integration and the Social Brain. Human Origins.1: 41-64. https://humanorigins.soton.ac.uk/
Hodgson, D. 2012. Emanations of the mind: Upper Palaeolithic art as a visual phenomenon. Time and Mind. 5 (2): 185-193.
[ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2012. Accommodating Opposing Perspectives in the “Modern Human Behavior” Debate. Current Anthropology. 53(3): 358.
Hodgson, D. 2012. The consequences of human behavior. In special issue “Humanity’s Future”. MDPI Humanities (ISSN 2076-0787).
[ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2013. Cognitive Evolution, Population, Transmission, and Material Culture. Biological Theory. 7: 237-246. [ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2013. The Visual Brain, Perception, and the Depiction of Animals in Rock Art. The Journal of Archaeology. Article ID 342801. [ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2014. Commentary on Turing instabilities and symbolic material culture by Froese, Woodward and Ikegami. Adaptive Behaviour. 22:86-88.
doi:10.1177/1059712313509653
Hodgson, D. 2014. Decoding the Blombos Engravings, Shell Beads, and Diepkloof Ostrich Eggshell Patterns. Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 24(1): 57–69.
Hodgson, D. 2014. The Significance of the Pech Merle Spotted Horses. MDPI World Rock Art. doi: 10.3390/arts3020207
Hodgson, D. 2015. The symmetry of Acheulean handaxes and cognitive evolution. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 2: 204-208.
Hodgson, D. 2017. Costly signalling, the arts, archaeology and human behaviour. World Archaeology. 49(4): 446-465. doi: 10.1080/00438243.2017.1281757
Hodgson, D. 2017. Closely Observed Animals, Hunter-Gatherers and Visual Imagery in Upper Palaeolithic Art. Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture. 1(2): 59-72.
Hodgson, D. 2018. Tracing Upper Palaeolithic Iconography: The Strange Case of Animal Tracks. Global Journal of Archaeology & Anthropology. 3(4).
doi: 10.19080/GJAA.2018.03.555620
Hodgson, D. 2019. The origin, significance, and development of the earliest geometric patterns in the archaeological record. Journal of Archaeological Science:Reports. 24: 588-592. [ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2019. Response to the critique by Mellet et al. of Hodgson’s Neurovisual Resonance Theory. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 28:102041
doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.102041
Hodgson, D. 2020. Upper Palaeolithic art as a perceptual search for magical images. Time and Mind. doi: 10.1080/1751696X.2021.1961048
Hodgson,D. 2023. Seeing Beyond Pareidolia: Implications for Palaeoart. Rock Art Research.40(2). [ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2024. Assimilating Neuroimaging with the Archaeology of Early Mark-Making: A Critical Assessment. Preprint: doi: [ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2024. On early figurative depictions. An interdisciplinary study from archaeology to neuroscience. Nodes (24):70-78. Numero Cromatico Editore, Rome.

Books:

Hodgson, D. 2019. The Roots of Visual Depiction in Art:Neuroarchaeology, Neuroscience and Evolution. Cambridge Scholar: Newcastle, UK.
Hodgson, D. 2023. From Deep Patterns to the Origin of Writing and Information Systems: How Information Escaped from the Brain. Amazon KDP Publishing.

Co-authored papers:

Hodgson, D. and Helvenston, P. A. 2006. The Emergence of the Representation of Animals in Palaeoart: Insights from evolution and the cognitive, limbic and visual systems of the human brain. Rock Art Research 23 (1): 3-40.
Helvenston, P. A. and Hodgson, D. 2010. The Neuropsychology of “Animism”: Implications for Understanding Rock Art. Rock Art Research. 27 (1): 61-94.
Hodgson, D. and Verpooten, J. 2014. The Evolutionary Significance of the Arts: Exploring the By-product Hypothesis in the Context of Ritual, Precursors, and Cultural Evolution. Biological Theory. 10:73-85. doi: 10.1007/s13752-014-0182-y
Hodgson, D. and Watson, B. 2015. The visual brain and the early depiction of animals in Europe and Southeast Asia. World Archaeology. 47(5): 776-791.
Mukhopadhyay, T. P. and Hodgson, D. 2016. Why is rock art so evocative? Affective depiction of animals from Coso Range petroglyphs, southwest California, and Isco, Hazaribagh, India. Expression. 12: 26-47.
Spikins, P., Wright, B. and Hodgson, D. 2016. Are there alternative adaptive strategies to human pro-sociality? The role of collaborative morality in the emergence of personality variation and autistic traits. Time and Mind. 9 (4): 289-313.
doi: 10.1080/1751696X.2016.1244949
Hodgson, D. and Pettitt, P. B. 2018. The origins of iconic depictions: a falsifiable model derived from the visual science of Palaeolithic cave art and world rock art. Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 28(4): 591-612.
doi: org/10.1017/S0959774318000227

Edited Books:

Hodgson. D. 2009. The Earliest Manifestations of ‘Art’: An Attempted Integration. In, Exploring the Mind of Ancient Man. pp. 25-34. P. C. Reddy (ed.) Research India Press: New Delhi.
Hodgson, D. 2008. Neurovisual theory, the visuo-motor system and Pleistocene palaeoart. (Paper presented at UISPP XV International world congress in Lisbon, Portugal 2006). Published in Pleistocene Palaeoart of the World. R. G. Bednarik and D. Hodgson (eds). pp.49-55. BAR International Series 1804. Archaeopress: Oxford.
Hodgson, D. and Helvenston, P. 2010. The neuropsychological basis of rock art: hyperimagery and its significance for understanding the archaeological record. In, Archaeological Invisibility and Forgotten Knowledge. Conference Proceedings, University of Łódź, Poland, 5th–7th September 2007. K. Hardy (ed.). pp. 172-179. BAR International Series 2183: Archaeopress: Oxford.
Hodgson, D. 2013. Grappling with an enigma: the complexity of human behavior as a multidimensional phenomenon. In, The Psychology of Human Behavior R. G. Bednarik (ed.). pp, 183-210. Nova Science Publishers: New York.
Hodgson, D. 2013. Ambiguity, Perception, and the First Representations. In, Origins of Pictures (Papers from the Chemnitz Conference, Germany (2010). pp. 401-423. K. Sachs-Hombach and J. R. J. Schirra (eds.). Halem: Köln.
Hodgson, D. 2016. Deciphering Patterns in the Archaeology of South Africa: The Neurovisual Resonance Theory. In, Formal Models in Evolutionary Cognitive Archaeology. pp. 133-156. T. Wynn and F.L. Coolidge (eds.). Oxford University Press: New York.
Hodgson, D. 2019. Stone Tools and Spatial Cognition. In, Squeezing Minds From Stones Cognitive Archaeology and the Evolution of the Human Mind. pp. 200-224. K. A. Overmann and F. L. Coolidge (eds.). Oxford University Press: New York.
Hodgson, D. 2020. The Cognitive Mechanisms Deriving from the Acheulean Handaxe that Gave Rise to Symmetry, Form, and Pattern Perception. In, Handbook of Cognitive Archaeology: Psychology in Prehistory. pp. 241-260. T.B. Henley., M.J. Rossano and E. P. Kardas (eds.). Routledge: New York and London.
Hodgson, D. 2023. The Relevance of Geometry to Understanding Human Evolution from the Perspective of Cognitive Domains and the Neurovisual Resonance Theory. In, Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Archaeology. pp. C17S1–C17N6 T. Wynn., K. A. Overmann and F. Coolidge (eds). Oxford University Press: New York.
Hodgson, D. 2024. Neuroscience, Visual Imagery, Rock Art and the Origins of Writing. In, pp. 151-173. Study of Palaeoart of the World: A Quest for Understanding the Evolution of Human Constructs of Reality. pp. 151-173. G. Kumar (ed.) Pathak Publisher and Distributors:New Delhi.
Hodgson, D. 2024. The Arts as a Communal Signaling Device. Prosocial World: Which Way Evolution & the Arts. David Sloane Wilson (ed.). Link to full article: https://www.prosocial.world/posts/the-arts-as-a-communal-signaling-device

Commentaries and Replies:

Hodgson, D. 2000. Independent and overlapping trajectories relating the simple to the complex. Rock Art Research 17 (1): 27–31.
Hodgson, D. 2003. Perception, recognition, evolution and palaeoart: Interactive hierarchies and reciprocal correspondences. Rock Art Research. 20 (1): 14–18.
Hodgson, D. 2003. Primitives in palaeoart and the visual brain: the building-blocks of representation in art and perception. (commentary on "The Earliest Evidence of Palaeoart" by Robert G. Bednarik). Rock Art Research 20 (2):116-117.
Hodgson, D. 2004. Regarding Bednarik's Reply to Comments on 'The Earliest Evidence of Palaeoart.' (in Rock Art Research 2003, 20 (2): 89-135). Rock Art Research. 21 (1): p. 85 (with "response to Bradshaw and Hodgson" by R. Bednarik).
Hodgson, D. 2005. More on Acheulean Tools. Current Anthropology 46: 647-650.
Hodgson, D. 2008. Stopping doodles from getting out of hand. Comment on B. Watson ‘Oodles of doodles? Doodling behaviour and its implications for understanding palaeoarts.’ Rock Art Research 25 (1): 51–52.
Hodgson, D. 2009. Commentary on “Acheulian Giant-Core Technology” by G. Sharon. Current Anthropology. 50 (3): 358-359.
Hodgson, D. 2009. Symmetry and humans: reply to Mithen's "Sexy Handaxe Theory” Antiquity.83: 195-198.
Hodgson, D. 2012. The parasitic nature of ‘art’: response to Varella et al. and associated commentaries. Rock Art Research. 29(2): 219- 229.
Hodgson, D. 2012. The lure of the arts. Rock Art Research. 29(2): 229-233.
Hodgson, D. 2013. Reframing rock art. Rock Art Research. 30 (2): 163-164.
Hodgson, D. 2017. Bednarik’s ‘Rock art and pareidolia’: role of psychological biases. Rock Art Research. 34 (2): 206.
Hodgson, D. 2020. Neuroimaging does not support the representational nature of the earliest human engravings: comment on Mellet et al. (2019). Cambridge Open Engage. doi:10.33774/coe-2020-0rfg8
Hodgson, D. 2021. Comment on "Early evidence for symbolic behavior in the Levantine Middle Paleolithic: A 120 ka old engraved aurochs bone shaft from the open-air site of Nesher Ramla, Israel" [Quat. Int. (2021) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2021.01.002] Quaternary International. [ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2022. Assessing the status of the earliest engravings: putting the record straight. Comment on Salagnon, M. Cremona S, Joliot M, d’Errico, F. and Mellet, E. 2022. Neural correlates of perceiving and interpreting engraved prehistoric patterns as human
production: Effect of archaeological expertise. PLoS ONE.17(8): e0271732.
Hodgson D. 2024. Commentary on " 'Snakes and ladders' in paleoanthropology: From cognitive surprise to skillfulness a million years ago." Physics of Life Review. 49:134-135. [ Link ]

Co-authored Replies:

Helvenston, P. A. and Hodgson. D. 2006. Further thoughts on comments by Chippendale and a reply to Taçon. Rock Art Research. 23 (2): 249-253.
Hodgson, D. and Helvenston, P. A. 2007. The evolution of animal representation: response to Dobrez. Rock Art Research. 24 (1): 116-123.
Helvenston, P. A. and Hodgson, D. 2011.Wild Thing, I Think I Love You: The Importance of Animals in Human Evolution: A Comment on Shipman. Current Anthropology. 52, (3): p. 433.

Articles in the Media:

Hodgson, D. 2017. What's the point of art? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/whats-the-point-of-art-77118
Hodgson, D. and Pettitt, P. 2018. Warning signs: how early humans first began to paint animals. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/warning-signs-how-early-humans-first-began-to-paint-animals-95597
Hodgson, D. 2019. How did reading and writing evolve? Neuroscience gives a clue. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/how-did-reading-and-writing-evolve-neuroscience-gives-a-clue-112337

Invited Presentations, Conferences and Workshops:

Hodgson, D. 2006. (4th – 9th September). “Neurovisual Theory, the Visuo-motor System and Pleistocene Palaeoart” presented at UISPP XV International World Congress, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
Hodgson, D. 2007 (26th April). “The reorganisation of primary visual cortex and extrastriate areas of the human brain in relation to evolution and behavioural indicators” presented at Centre for Archaeology of Human Origins, Southampton University, Southampton, UK.
Hodgson, D. 2007. (5th – 8th September). “Hyperimagery and rock art: visual imagery, perceptual ambiguities and ways of thinking” presented at, “Archaeological Invisibility and Forgotten Knowledge. Ethnoarchaeology, Hunter-gatherers, Ephemeral cultural aspects” presented at Lódz University, Lódz , Poland.
Hodgson, D. 2010 (December). “Hominin Tool Production, Neural Integration and the Social Brain” presented to The British Academy at the Centre for Human Origins, Southampton University, UK in contribution to the project "From Lucy to Language: the Archaeology of the Social Brain.”
Hodgson, D. 2011 (30th March – 1st April). “Ambiguity, Perception, and the First Representations” presented at “Origins of Pictures” conference at Technische Universität Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Germany.
Hodgson, D. 2013. (19th – 21st September). “Deciphering Patterns in the Archaeology of South Africa: The Neurovisual Resonance Theory” presented at the 3rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution at the University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Hodgson, D. 2014 (September 6th – 7th). “The visual brain, embodiment and the first visual cultures: what can they tell us about ‘art’ ”. Presented at the 11th International Conference on Neuroesthetics, “Seeing and Knowing, Vision, Knowledge, Cognition, and Aesthetics” sponsored by the Minerva Foundation at the University of California (Berkeley), USA. http://www.minervaberkeley.org/conferences/seeing-knowing-vision-knowledge-cognition-and-aesthetics/2014-speakers1/ Video of conference presentation available on YouTube at: [ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2015 (November 11th). The evolutionary significance of art. Presented at the 5th Porto Alegre Biological Evolution Workshop, Dept of Genetics, Institute of Biosciences, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Hodgson, D. 2016 (March 30th). Visual Perception, Emotion, and Palaeolithic Art. Presented at the “Art, symbolism and emotional expression in the Palaeolithic workshop”. Dept. of Archaeology, King’s Manor, University of York, UK.
Hodgson, D. 2016 (April 5th). Renfrew’s Paradox and Material Engagement. Presented at the Interactiong Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Denmark. [ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2016 (November 25th). What can the Psychology of Perception and Visual Neuroscience tell us about Palaeolithic Art? Presented as a seminar to the Department of Psychology and Department of Archaeology at Durham University. Hodgson, D. 2016 (December 9th). What can the Psychology of Perception and Visual Neuroscience tell us about Palaeolithic Art? Presented to the Palaeolithic Art group, Department of Archaeology, Kings Manor, University of York.
Hodgson, D. 2018 (April 13th). Camouflage, Art, and Mind. Presented to an invited audience at the Michèle Didier Gallery, Paris on the occasion of exhibition “Mimétisme et psychasthénie légendaire” by artist Cari Gonzalez-Casanova
Hodgson, D. 2021 (January 12th). The Deep Foundations of Writing Systems: Neuroarchaeology, Neurorecycling, and Pattern Perception. Presented to Inscribe, in the section “Is Iconography a Springboard for Writing?” at the University of Bologna (on Zoom) as part of four day workshop on the Invention of Writing. Available at the following link:
[ Link ]
Hodgson, D. 2023 (May 16th). Emerging Patterns, Signs and Iconography in the Human Lineage: An Embodied Approach. Presented at the workshop: “Understanding the Development of Symbolic Cognition through Rock Art:An Interdisciplinary Dialogue.” Rock Art Centre, Puente Viesgo.
Hodgson, D. 2025 (Dec. 9th ). Before Symbols: Material Engagement, Neuroarchaeology and Pattern Perception. Presented at the workshop: “Celebrating eSYMb: The Evolution of Early Symbolic Behaviour: A Workshop in Memory of Kristian Tylén.” (8th-10th Jan.) at Hejmdal Møde og Konferencehus for Aarhus University, Denmark.

Workshops Attended:

Hodgson, D. 2007 (April). Conference/workshop on innovation and evolution at the Department of Archaeology, Southampton University.

Conference Coordination:

Co-chair of colloquia “The Pleistocene Palaeoart of the World” at UISPP XV International World Congress (4-9th Sept. 2006) Lisbon, Portugal.
Conference advisory committee “Archaeological Invisibility and Forgotten Knowledge. Ethnoarchaeology, Hunter-gatherers, Ephemeral cultural aspects” (5-8 Sept. 2007). Lódz University, Poland.
Conference adjudicator for “Origins of Pictures” at Technische Universität Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Germany. (30th March – 1st April. 2011).

Book reviews:

Hodgson, D. 2005. “Waking the Trance Fixed” by P. A. Helvenston and P. Bahn. (Wasteland Press). In Rock Art Research. 2006, 23 (2) p. 270.
Hodgson, D. 2010. “The Artificial Ape” by Timothy Taylor. (Palgrave Macmillan). In Times Higher Education. 21st Oct, 2010.
Hodgson, D. 2011. “Starting from Scratch: The Origin and Development of Expression, Representation and Symbolism in Human and Non-Human Primates” by John Matthews (Psychology Press). In Times Higher Education. 26th May, 2011.
Hodgson, D. 2014. “On the origin of the human mind” by Andrey Vyshedkiy (Mobile Reference. 2nd edition).
Hodgson, D. 2021. “Prehistoric Iconicity Snake Anthropomorphy of the American Southwest and Mesoamerica” by Tirtha Prasad Mukhopadhyay and Alan Garfinkel. (Berghahn Books: Brooklyn, NY).

Referee and Reviewer for:

Journals:

• Current Anthropology
• Antiquity
• Perception
• Leonardo
• MDPI journals
• Rock Art Research
• Internet Archaeology
• Adaptive Behaviour
• The Leakey Foundation
• African Archaeological Review
• Open Archaeology
• Nature
• Lithics
• Journal of Archaeological Science:Reports
• Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory
• Quaternary International
• Evolutionary Studies in Imaginitive Culture
• British Journal of Aesthetics
• Journal of Cultural Cognitive Science

Books:

• Peter Lang Publishing
• Berghahn Books
• Times Literary Supplement
• Oxford University Press

Media Interest:

Interview with Taylor Burns quoted in Cosmos science magazine (8th Nov 2011) in article “Leopard print horse DNA sheds light on cave painting” [ Link ]

Interview with Taylor Burns in Nature Education by SCITABLE (Nov 11th, 2011) “On cognitive palaeontology and the infamous 'spotted' horse”. [ Link ]

Interview with New Scientist on the spotted horses of Pech Merle (2011) (unpublished)

Interview with BBC regarding cave art (2014) (unpublished).

Interviewed by Smithsonian Magazine (2018) on: “Colored Pigments and Complex Tools Suggest Humans Were Trading 100,000 Years Earlier Than Previously Believed”. [ Link ]

Inteviewed by Melanie Challenger in person 19th October 2019 at University of York regarding her book “How to be Animal”.

Interview with John Nicolson on Talkradio 4th August 2019 from 16.45 to 17.00 regarding paper: odgson, D. 2019. The origin, significance, and development of the earliest geometric patterns in the archaeological record. Journal of Archaeological Science:Reports. 24: 588-592, and summary of the same article in the "The Conversation".

Interviewed on Zoom by Amy McDermott, science writer for Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA, 27th July 2021 for article subsequently published in PNAS entitled: News Feature: What was the first “art”? How would we know? November 2, 2021 118 (44) e2117561118; [ Link ]

Interviewed on Zoom by Federica Sgorbissa, science writer for Il Tascabile and the Italian version of Scientific American, on my research about the prehistoric precursors of writing and associated neuroscience (October 11th 2021).

Inteviewed on Skype by Michael Bond, science journalist and consultant editor for New Scientist regard his book on the relationship between animals and humans (2nd March 2023)
Interviewed by Tom Metcalfe be email on Dec 11th 2023 for article in Live Science for article “Did art exist before modern humans? New discoveries raise big questions” published February 3rd 2024. [ Link ]

Interviewed on Skype by Federica Sgorbissa, science writer for Scientific American, on my research regarding the links between pattern perception, early stone tools, and the development of writing in the context of recent neuroscientific studies (20th March 2024)

Interviewed on Zoom by Kristel Tjandra, science journalist for Live Science, on my comments on the Nature paper “Narrative cave art in Indonesia by 51,200 years ago” by Oktaviana et al 2024 (July 2nd 2024).

Interviewed by Tom Metcalfe by email on 27th May 2025, science journalist for Live Science, for article “43,000-year-old human fingerprint is world's oldest — and made by a Neanderthal”(May 28th 2025). [ Link ]