Journal ArticleDOI
Archaeological Evidence for the Emergence of Language, Symbolism, and Music–An Alternative Multidisciplinary Perspective
Francesco d'Errico,Christopher S. Henshilwood,Christopher S. Henshilwood,Graeme Lawson,Marian Vanhaeren,Anne-Marie Tillier,Marie Soressi,Frédérique Bresson,Bruno Maureille,April Nowell,Joseba Lakarra,Lucinda Backwell,Michèle Julien +12 more
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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.Abstract:
In recent years, there has been a tendency to correlate the origin of modern culture and language with that of anatomically modern humans. Here we discuss this correlation in the light of results provided by our first hand analysis of ancient and recently discovered relevant archaeological and paleontological material from Africa and Europe. We focus in particular on the evolutionary significance of lithic and bone technology, the emergence of symbolism, Neandertal behavioral patterns, the identification of early mortuary practices, the anatomical evidence for the acquisition of language, the development of conscious symbolic storage, the emergence of musical traditions, and the archaeological evidence for the diversification of languages during the Upper Paleolithic. This critical reappraisal contradicts the hypothesis of a symbolic revolution coinciding with the arrival of anatomically modern humans in Europe some 40,000 years ago, but also highlights inconsistencies in the anatomically–culturally modern equation and the potential contribution of anatomically “pre-modern” human populations to the emergence of these abilities. No firm evidence of conscious symbolic storage and musical traditions are found before the Upper Paleolithic. However, the oldest known European objects that testify to these practices already show a high degree of complexity and geographic variability suggestive of possible earlier, and still unrecorded, phases of development.read more
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Late Pleistocene Demography and the Appearance of Modern Human Behavior
TL;DR: A population model shows that demography is a major determinant in the maintenance of cultural complexity and that variation in regional subpopulation density and/or migratory activity results in spatial structuring of cultural skill accumulation.
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The origin of modern human behavior.
TL;DR: It is argued here that the current set of test implications suffers from three main problems: many are empirically derived from and context‐specific to the richer European record, rendering them problematic for use in the primarily tropical and subtropical African continent.
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Nassarius kraussianus shell beads from Blombos Cave: evidence for symbolic behaviour in the Middle Stone Age
TL;DR: Morphometric, taphonomic and microscopic analysis of modern assemblages of living and dead tick shell demonstrate that the presence of perforated Nassarius kraussianus shells in the Blombos MSA levels cannot be due to natural processes or accidental transport by humans.
Journal ArticleDOI
The biology and evolution of music: A comparative perspective
TL;DR: A comparative perspective on the biology and evolution of music is presented, stressing the value of comparisons both with human language, and with those animal communication systems traditionally termed "song".
Journal ArticleDOI
Engraved ochres from the Middle Stone Age levels at Blombos Cave, South Africa
TL;DR: Thirteen additional pieces of incised ochre recovered from c.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Paleolithic Technology and Human Evolution
TL;DR: This work has shown that stone tool technology, robust australopithecines, and the genus Homo appeared almost simultaneously 2.5 million years ago, and once this adaptive threshold was crossed, technological evolution was accompanied by increased brain size, population size, and geographical range.
Journal ArticleDOI
Neanderthal acculturation in western Europe? A critical review of the evidence and its interpretation
TL;DR: In this paper, it is argued that Grotte du Renne (Arcy-sur-Cure, France) is not an exceptional case and is best explained by models of independent development that are supported by a reevaluation of Chatelperronian technology and by the patterns of chronological and geographical distribution of late Mousterian settlements.
Book
The prehistory of the mind: a search for the origins of art, religion and science
TL;DR: Mithen as discussed by the authors explores how an understanding of our ancestors and their development can illuminate our brains and behaviour today How do our minds work? When did language and religious beliefs first emerge? Why was there a cultural explosion of art and creativity with the arrival of modern humans?
Book
Tools, Language and Cognition in Human Evolution
Kathleen Rita Gibson,Tim Ingold +1 more
TL;DR: A history of speculation on the relation between tools and language Gordon Hewes, and the complementation theory of language and tool use Peter Reynolds.
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