April Nowell

TL;DR: In this article, a critical reappraisal contradicts the hypothesis of a symbolic revolution coinciding with the arrival of anatomically modern humans in Europe some 40,000 years ago.

TL;DR: A review summarizes current thinking about the concept of modern behavior in the context of Neandertals and anatomically modern humans can be found in this paper, where four questions arise from this debate: (a) What is modern behavior? (b) Is the emergence of modern behaviour sudden or more gradual? (c) Is modern behavior unique to modern humans or more widely shared with other species, most notably the Neandergals? (d) Is it primarily the result of new cognitive abilities or social, cultural, demographic, and historic factors?

TL;DR: The authors developed methods for examining questions of cognition, demonstrating the progression of mental capabilities from early hominins to modern humans through the archaeological record, including joint attention, pattern recognition, memory usage, and the emergence of language.

TL;DR: The model suggests that salient material culture innovation may occur or be primed in a late childhood or adolescence sweet spot when cognitive and physical abilities are sufficiently mature but before the full onset of the concerns and costs associated with reproduction.

TL;DR: It is concluded that there is not a single cultural capacity or a single set of abilities that enabled human culture; rather, several grades of cultural capacity in animals and hominins expanded during their evolution to shape who the authors are today.