With the purely symbolic, geometrical elements of
primitive pattern, the zigzag, chevron, and diamond, however, these are intelligible in
their own right, and contain the principles they symbolize. So a point on its own symbolizes that which has no dimension. Unity.
Individuality. An intangible principle which we recognize as an expression of that which
in everyone is individual, unique, alone.
The symbolic point becomes a support for contemplation of
the principle of oneness itself, of which we are conscious, and yet is also the principle
of first cause, of origin of all that is, the ground zero of the big bang of the universe.
Primitive ornament, as Romilly Allen pointed out, is all
based on a single system, exceedingly simple, everywhere and ever the same, and the
archeological record bears this out.
Geometric symbolism is the basis of the original art every
where on the planet, at least since the last Ice Age, it seems safe to assume - purer than
religious and ceremonial ornamentation; purer than mythology and folklore; purer
than dream figures; and purer than poetry or symbolic art.
Purer than these, because not geometric symbolism is not
limited by conditions of social context or verbalization.
