Neanderthals and Modern Humans in the European Landscape During the Last Glaciation

Neanderthals and Modern Humans in the European Landscape During the Last Glaciation PDF Author: Leslie Aiello
Publisher: McDonald Institute Monographs
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
What role did Ice Age climate play in the demise of the Neanderthals, and why was it that modern humans alone survived? For the past seven years a team of international experts from a wide range of disciplines have worked together to provide a detailed study of the world occupied by the European Neanderthals between 60,000 and 25,000 years ago: the period known as Oxygen Isotope Stage 3. This collection of papers documents the extensive environmental research conducted by the Stage 3 Project. The new chronological and archaeological database constructed by the Project sets the Neanderthal and modern human sites in a continent-wide framework of space and time. A mammalian data base maps the ecology and fauna of the period, providing fresh insights into the availability of plant and animal foods in different parts of the European landscape as Ice Age climate changed and fluctuated. New high-resolution computer simulations give detailed estimates of temperature and rainfall, and above all of the wind-chill and snow cover that would have such an impact on both humans and on the resources they needed for survival. The results provide revolutionary insights into the glacial climate of Stage 3 and the landscapes and resources that influenced late Palaeolithic life-styles.

Neanderthals and Modern Humans in the European Landscape During the Last Glaciation

Neanderthals and Modern Humans in the European Landscape During the Last Glaciation PDF Author: Leslie Aiello
Publisher: McDonald Institute Monographs
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Get Book Here

Book Description
What role did Ice Age climate play in the demise of the Neanderthals, and why was it that modern humans alone survived? For the past seven years a team of international experts from a wide range of disciplines have worked together to provide a detailed study of the world occupied by the European Neanderthals between 60,000 and 25,000 years ago: the period known as Oxygen Isotope Stage 3. This collection of papers documents the extensive environmental research conducted by the Stage 3 Project. The new chronological and archaeological database constructed by the Project sets the Neanderthal and modern human sites in a continent-wide framework of space and time. A mammalian data base maps the ecology and fauna of the period, providing fresh insights into the availability of plant and animal foods in different parts of the European landscape as Ice Age climate changed and fluctuated. New high-resolution computer simulations give detailed estimates of temperature and rainfall, and above all of the wind-chill and snow cover that would have such an impact on both humans and on the resources they needed for survival. The results provide revolutionary insights into the glacial climate of Stage 3 and the landscapes and resources that influenced late Palaeolithic life-styles.

The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-Gatherers

The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-Gatherers PDF Author: Vicki Cummings
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191025275
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1361

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Book Description
For more than a century, the study of hunting and gathering societies has been central to the development of both archaeology and anthropology as academic disciplines, and has also generated widespread public interest and debate. The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-Gatherers provides a comprehensive review of hunter-gatherer studies to date, including critical engagements with older debates, new theoretical perspectives, and renewed obligations for greater engagement between researchers and indigenous communities. Chapters provide in-depth archaeological, historical, and anthropological case-studies, and examine far-reaching questions about human social relations, attitudes to technology, ecology, and management of resources and the environment, as well as issues of diet, health, and gender relations - all central topics in hunter-gatherer research, but also themes that have great relevance for modern global society and its future challenges. The Handbook also provides a strategic vision for how the integration of new methods, approaches, and study regions can ensure that future research into the archaeology and anthropology of hunter-gatherers will continue to deliver penetrating insights into the factors that underlie all human diversity.

Dynamics of Learning in Neanderthals and Modern Humans Volume 1

Dynamics of Learning in Neanderthals and Modern Humans Volume 1 PDF Author: Takeru Akazawa
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 4431545115
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
This volume presents the first of two proceedings from the International Conference on the Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans, which took place in Tokyo in November 2012. Focussing on a highly innovative working hypothesis called the ‘learning hypothesis’, which attempts to explain the replacement as a result of differences in the learning abilities of these two hominid populations, the conference served as the latest multidisciplinary discussion forum on this intriguing Palaeoanthropological issue. The present volume reports on outcomes of the conference in three major sections. Part 1 provides an archaeological overview of the processes of replacement/assimilation of Neanderthals by modern humans. Part 2 consists of archaeological and ethnographic case studies exploring evidence of learning behaviours in prehistoric and modern hunter-gatherer societies. Part 3 presents a collection of papers that directly contributes to the definition, validation and testing of the learning hypothesis in terms of population biology and evolutionary theory. A total of 18 papers in this volume make available to readers unique cultural perspectives on mechanisms of the replacement/assimilation of Neanderthals by modern humans and suggested relationships between these mechanisms and different learning strategies.

Sex and Cohabitation Among Early Humans

Sex and Cohabitation Among Early Humans PDF Author: Rene J. Herrera
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128190876
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 614

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Book Description
Sex and Cohabitation Among Early Humans: Anthropological and Genetic Evidence for Interbreeding Among Early Humans explores the available information regarding interbreeding among different ancestral human species. In addition, it reviews evidence in support of cohabitation as well as cultural and technological interactions and exchanges among early humans, particularly Neanderthal-sapiens interactions. The fields of archaeology, anthropology, genetics, linguistics and molecular evolution have provided a wealth of information on the complex processes involved in human evolution. The book will help readers will develop knowledge on the complexity and multiplicity of hominins, including Homo heidelbergensis, Homo sapiens, and Homo floresiensis. Moreover, the book will help them reach a greater understanding of major topics, such as introgression, migration from Africa, the origin, development and extinction of Neanderthals, interbreeding between Neanderthals and humans, and trait continuity. - Integrates genetic, evolutionary, anthropological, archaeological, anatomical, artistic and linguistic research, among other areas - Written in a simple and direct style that is accessible to readers from different backgrounds and levels of understanding - Provides an integrative and holistic overview of recent developments in research on how different interactions between ancient hominins contributed to the evolution of our species

The Neanderthal Legacy

The Neanderthal Legacy PDF Author: Paul A. Mellars
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691167982
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 493

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Book Description
The Neanderthals populated western Europe from nearly 250,000 to 30,000 years ago when they disappeared from the archaeological record. In turn, populations of anatomically modern humans, Homo sapiens, came to dominate the area. Seeking to understand the nature of this replacement, which has become a hotly debated issue, Paul Mellars brings together an unprecedented amount of information on the behavior of Neanderthals. His comprehensive overview ranges from the evidence of tool manufacture and related patterns of lithic technology, through the issues of subsistence and settlement patterns, to the more controversial evidence for social organization, cognition, and intelligence. Mellars argues that previous attempts to characterize Neanderthal behavior as either "modern" or "ape-like" are both overstatements. We can better comprehend the replacement of Neanderthals, he maintains, by concentrating on the social and demographic structure of Neanderthal populations and on their specific adaptations to the harsh ecological conditions of the last glaciation. Mellars's approach to these issues is grounded firmly in his archaeological evidence. He illustrates the implications of these findings by drawing from the methods of comparative socioecology, primate studies, and Pleistocene paleoecology. The book provides a detailed review of the climatic and environmental background to Neanderthal occupation in Europe, and of the currently topical issues of the behavioral and biological transition from Neanderthal to fully "modern" populations.

How To Think Like a Neandertal

How To Think Like a Neandertal PDF Author: Thomas Wynn
Publisher: OUP USA
ISBN: 0199742820
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
In this book, the authors provide a fascinating narrative of the mental life of Neandertals, to the extent that it can be reconstructed from fossil and archaeological remains.

Palaeolithic Europe

Palaeolithic Europe PDF Author: Jennifer C. French
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110858411X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 724

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Book Description
In this book, Jennifer French presents a new synthesis of the archaeological, palaeoanthropological, and palaeogenetic records of the European Palaeolithic, adopting a unique demographic perspective on these first two-million years of European prehistory. Unlike prevailing narratives of demographic stasis, she emphasises the dynamism of Palaeolithic populations of both our evolutionary ancestors and members of our own species across four demographic stages, within a context of substantial Pleistocene climatic changes. Integrating evolutionary theory with a socially oriented approach to the Palaeolithic, French bridges biological and cultural factors, with a focus on women and children as the drivers of population change. She shows how, within the physiological constraints on fertility and mortality, social relationships provide the key to enduring demographic success. Through its demographic focus, French combines a 'big picture' perspective on human evolution with careful analysis of the day-to-day realities of European Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer communities—their families, their children, and their lives.

Sourcebook of Paleolithic Transitions

Sourcebook of Paleolithic Transitions PDF Author: Marta Camps
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387764879
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 575

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Book Description
As the study of Palaeolithic technologies moves towards a more analytical approach, it is necessary to determine a consistent procedural framework. The contributions to this timely and comprehensive volume do just that. This volume incorporates a broad chronological and geographical range of Palaeolithic material from the Lower to Upper Palaeolithic. The focus of this volume is to provide an analysis of Palaeolithic technologies from a quantitative, empirical perspective. As new techniques, particularly quantitative methods, for analyzing Palaeolithic technologies gain popularity, this work provides case studies particularly showcasing these new techniques. Employing diverse case studies, and utilizing multivariate approaches, morphometrics, model-based approaches, phylogenetics, cultural transmission studies, and experimentation, this volume provides insights from international contributors at the forefront of recent methodological advances.

Neanderthals Revisited

Neanderthals Revisited PDF Author: Katerina Harvati
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402051212
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
This volume presents the cutting-edge research of leading scientists, re-examining the major debates in Neanderthal research with the use of innovative methods and exciting new theoretical approaches. Coverage includes the re-evaluation of Neanderthal anatomy, inferred adaptations and habitual activities, developmental patterns, phylogenetic relationships, and the Neanderthal extinction; new methods include computer tomography, 3D geometric morphometrics, ancient DNA and bioenergetics. The book offers fresh insight into both Neanderthals and modern humans.

Human Thought and Social Organization

Human Thought and Social Organization PDF Author: Murray J. Leaf
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 0739170287
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 477

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Book Description
Two characteristics of human beings as a species are: the elaboration of our thought through language and symbolism, and the pluralistic nature of our systems of social organization. This book shows how these two characteristics are related by determining the conceptual structures that are fundamental to human thought and social organization.