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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TLDR
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".
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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
The Prehistory of the Mind. A Search for the Origins of Art, Religion and Science
TL;DR: Mithen has developed a theory that the hominid mind is concerned with social interaction, natural history (animal hunting) and social interaction as discussed by the authors, which has occupied the thinking careers of many of our finest minds.
Archéologie funéraire et anthropologie. Application des relevés et de l'étude ostéologiques à l'interprétation de quelques sépultures pré-et protohistoriques du Midi de la France
TL;DR: The presence d'un anthropologue sur le chantier meme peut apporter d'utiles indications for l'exploitation globale du site as mentioned in this paper, and l'etude des rites funeraires: tombes individuelles (Aleria, Lattes), sepultures secondaires (St Michel du Touch, sepulture collectives).
Journal ArticleDOI
Une donnée peu connue sur la sépulture du premier adulte de La Ferrassie (Savignac-de-Miremont, Dordogne)/A little known element concerning the burial of the first adult at La Ferrassie (Savignac-de-Miremont, Dordogne)
Bruno Maureille,Philip Van Peer +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, les remarques formulees dans une lettre inedite de D. Peyrony a M. Boule nous apprennent qu'en 1926, le fouilleur de La Ferrassie pensait qu'une fosse funeraire avait ete creusee pour y deposer le corps.
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