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7 Law, Tech. & Hum. 1 (2025)

handle is hein.journals/lwtchmn7 and id is 1 raw text is: https/Lith.gqut.e;dugau/_ Volume 7 (1) 2025 LAW, TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANS https://doi.org/10.5204/Ithj.3910 Introduction Narratives, Frontier Technologies, and the Law Henrique Marcos Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, The Netherlands Syamsuriatina binti Ishak Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, The Netherlands Abstract 1. Profiles of the Future Humans are storytellers. Long before the invention of writing, storytelling was already an important part of human culture. Archaeological evidence suggests that narratives have been a part of human experience for tens of thousands of years. Prehistoric cave paintings, such as those found in Kimberley in Australia,1 Chauvet in France,2 and Karampuang in Indonesia,3 date back approximately 17, 30, and 50 thousand years, and depict vivid scenes of animals, hunting, and abstract symbols. These images reveal that the artists of the Palaeolithic had sophisticated cognitive processes, which they used to share myths, reinforce group identity, and teach survival skills.4 In this light, we can view cave art as an early form of storytelling, capturing communal histories, transmitting cultural values, or communicating spiritual beliefs.5 The pictorial narratives etched into stone and painted on cave walls laid the groundwork for humanity's written storytelling tradition.6 However, we cannot overstate the significance of oral storytelling. Indigenous cultures around the world have rich oral histories, some of which coincide with scientific accounts of ancient geological events. For instance, the oral traditions of Australian First Nations describe the submergence of coastal lands after the last Ice Age, which geological data suggests dates these narratives back more than ten thousand years.? In this respect, the continuous storytelling practices of Australian First Nations peoples exemplify how oral narratives sustain complex systems of ancestral law, cultural identity, and ecological knowledge across thousands of generations.8 Similarly, but emerging much later within written traditions, narratives such as 1 Finch, Ages for Australia's Oldest Rock Paintings. 2 Clottes, Chauvet Cave; Leroi-Gourhan, The Archaeology of Lascaux Cave. 3 Oktaviana, Narrative Cave Art in Indonesia by 51,200 Years Ago. 4 Clottes, What Is Paleolithic Art? 5 See generally Clottes, Return to Chauvet Cave. 6 Hurlburt, Storytelling. 7 Nunn, Aboriginal Memories of Inundation of the Australian Coast Dating from More than 7000 Years Ago. 8 See generally Langton, First Knowledges Law. O ~ FEcept where otherwise noted, content in this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Jnternational Licence. As an open access journal, articles are free to use with proper attribution. ISSN: 2652-4074 (Online) © The Author/s 2025 1

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