Cumulative culture is widely seen as a uniquely human characteristic involving distinct cognitive... more Cumulative culture is widely seen as a uniquely human characteristic involving distinct cognitive and behavioral performances. In searching for its origin, different factors have been suggested as crucial, based on comparative studies, and dates proposed as to when cumulative culture may have emerged in human evolution. This chapter reviews possible factors, suggesting that several are necessary, not only in the social sphere but also in the individual and environmental spheres. These interdependent factors have developed in three developmental dimensions (evolutionary-biological, ontogenetic-individual, and historical-social) in interaction with the specific environment. The interplay of basic factors and developmental dimensions shows a slow and gradual development of cumulative culture from its basis to simple and advanced donated culture. The onset of cumulative culture is concluded not to have been a single-trait event that occurred in a relatively short time but rather, the result of multifactorial and gradual processes that unfolded over millions of years.
The cognitive capacities of fossil humans cannot be studied directly. Taking the evolution of cau... more The cognitive capacities of fossil humans cannot be studied directly. Taking the evolution of causal cognition as an example this article demonstrates the use of bridging arguments from archeological finds as starting point via identification/classification, behavioral reconstructions, and cognitive interpretations to psychological models. Generally, tool use is linked to some causal understanding/agent construal as the tool broadens the subject's specific capabilities by adding new characters to its action sphere. In human evolution, the distance between the primarily perceived problem and the solution satisfying this need increased markedly: from simple causal relations to effective chaining in secondary/modular tool use, and further to the use of composite tools, complementary tool sets and notional tools. This article describes the evolution of human tool behavior from the perspective of problem-solution-distance and discusses the implications for a linked development of causal cognition.
Numerous highly fragmented bones and some partial skeletons characterise the human skeletal remai... more Numerous highly fragmented bones and some partial skeletons characterise the human skeletal remains at the Early Neolithic Linear Pottery Culture (LBK) enclosure of Herxheim, near Landau, Rhineland-Palatinate. The predominant portion of the archaeological and osteological finds had been deposited within apparent ditches, and these finds and the possible circumstances of their deposition led to the preliminary assumption that they were the result of a warlike conflict. First doubts were raised by the very large total number of at least 450 individuals. Moreover, the evidence that those skull injuries caused by strong blows had all completely healed, that intentional manipulation of the skulls, cut-marks and fragmentation of the postcranial skeleton were consistent among the finds, and that the human remains were laid down in depots, all suggest a recurring ritual act rather than a single warlike incident. Therefore, the hypothesis of a wartime event at Herxheim should be dismissed.
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, Dec 1, 1995
In the early 1960s the grave of a probable donor was discovered in the St Veit church in Unterreg... more In the early 1960s the grave of a probable donor was discovered in the St Veit church in Unterregenbach, Stadt Langenburg, Kreis Crailsheim, southwestern Germany. After a reexamination, the skeleton may be regarded as clearly corresponding to the typical ciinical picture of a multiple myelomdplasrna cell myeloma. The 45-55-year-old female individual shows all the characteristics of a malignant plasma cell tumour, with specific osteolytic lesions of the skull, vertebrae, ribs, pelvis, scapulae and long bones, and even-sized single defects without reactive zones on the edges. Several pathological fractures of the ribs and a vertebral compression fracture can be observed. The gnawing-mark-like features on the inner surface of the compact bone and the 'punched-out' lesions on the outer are distinguishing marks of a multiple myeloma.
Im Beitrag von Toepfer wird die analytisch sinnvolle, aber partikulare Betrachtungsweise von ‚Wah... more Im Beitrag von Toepfer wird die analytisch sinnvolle, aber partikulare Betrachtungsweise von ‚Wahrnehmung‘ als in erster Linie kognitivem Phanomen des Moments gut dargestellt. Unterschiedliche Perspektiven auf die Organismus-Umwelt-Beziehung haben dabei Auswirkungen auf die Wahrnehmung und Behandlung von ‚Wahrnehmung‘. In meinem Kommentar wird ‚Wahrnehmung‘ demgegenuber als Performanz begriffen, als Prozess im Zusammenspiel von Korper, Geist und Verhalten in Wechselwirkung mit Umweltelementen, wobei drei Entwicklungsdimensionen eine Rolle spielen.
Haidle, MN (2011) Archaeological Approaches to Cognitive Evolution, in A Companion to Cognitive A... more Haidle, MN (2011) Archaeological Approaches to Cognitive Evolution, in A Companion to Cognitive Anthropology (eds DB Kronenfeld, G. Bennardo, VC de Munck and MD Fischer), Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK. doi: 10.1002/9781444394931. ch24
Tool use is the main database to track down behavioral developments in the archaeological record ... more Tool use is the main database to track down behavioral developments in the archaeological record and thus human evolution. Working-memory capacity and modern cognitive potential, however, are no simple and obvious characters in tool behavior. Coded in cognigrams, which allow a direct comparison, animal and human tool use can be examined for specific aspects of the working-memory capacity. Detailed studies of tool behavior of wasps, sea otters, bottlenose dolphins, and chimpanzees are presented and compared with the manufacture and use of Oldowan tools and Lower Paleolithic spears. Although this shows a wide range of problem-solution distances, problem solving in animals seems to be restricted to problem complexes for which a solution can be found in spatial and temporal vicinity. In human evolution, the complexity of tool behavior increases regarding the number of active foci managed at a time in an action, the number and diversity of operational steps in a problem-solution complex, and the spatial and temporal frame in which solutions are sought. The results suggest a gradual development of the different aspects of a complex capacity instead of a late introduction of a closed phenomenon with only different facets. Modern human behavioral and cultural capacity is not an easy thing to study. The characterizations of the subject itself and its cognitive basis vary with the disciplinary and theoretical standpoints of the researchers. The explanation for the evolution of modern behavioral, cultural, and cognitive capacities and the methodological approaches to track its developmental steps follow the common disciplinary pathways and are constrained by the available data. The different perspectives become evident when archaeological and neuropsychological approaches are compared. Combining these approaches offers the perfect solution to overcome the limitations of both attempts. It remains to be seen how close they can come to each other and intertwine to create a synthetic model. Archaeological definitions of modern human behavior focus generally on the presence or absence of certain material traits, such as blade technology, bone and antler industry, art, personal ornaments, and burials (for a compilation and critical assessment, see Belfer-Cohen and Hovers 2010; Davidson 2010, both in this issue; Henshilwood and Marean 2003).
Page 1. Miriam Noël Haidle (Tübingen) Menschenaffen? Affenmenschen? Menschen! Kognition und Sprac... more Page 1. Miriam Noël Haidle (Tübingen) Menschenaffen? Affenmenschen? Menschen! Kognition und Sprache im Altpaläolithikum Zusammenfassung Die Anfänge der den Menschen prägenden Merkmale Bewusstes Denken ...
This paper addresses problems in comparative innovation research and offers approaches to the sys... more This paper addresses problems in comparative innovation research and offers approaches to the systematic assessment of innovative potential based on the archaeological record. The problems involved in discussing differences in creativity and comparing the innovation rates of different groups, periods, and species are threefold: a) on the level of categorization, b) on the level of detection; and, c) on the level of preservation and resolution. Here, a qualitative and a quantitative scheme for categorizing innovations are proposed. For a detailed examination of innovations, the method of coding object behavior in cognigrams and effective chains is introduced. Finally, the problems of the preservation and detectability of the different categories within the archaeological record are discussed. In order to be able to address all aspects of the problem of identifying and specifying an innovation, the three problem levels are explained using a 21st century example. It is the aim of this paper to systematize the study of innovation and creativity based on the fragmentary remains of material culture that are available, and thus to increase objectivity in the evaluation of an imperfect data base.
Cumulative culture is widely seen as a uniquely human characteristic involving distinct cognitive... more Cumulative culture is widely seen as a uniquely human characteristic involving distinct cognitive and behavioral performances. In searching for its origin, different factors have been suggested as crucial, based on comparative studies, and dates proposed as to when cumulative culture may have emerged in human evolution. This chapter reviews possible factors, suggesting that several are necessary, not only in the social sphere but also in the individual and environmental spheres. These interdependent factors have developed in three developmental dimensions (evolutionary-biological, ontogenetic-individual, and historical-social) in interaction with the specific environment. The interplay of basic factors and developmental dimensions shows a slow and gradual development of cumulative culture from its basis to simple and advanced donated culture. The onset of cumulative culture is concluded not to have been a single-trait event that occurred in a relatively short time but rather, the result of multifactorial and gradual processes that unfolded over millions of years.
The cognitive capacities of fossil humans cannot be studied directly. Taking the evolution of cau... more The cognitive capacities of fossil humans cannot be studied directly. Taking the evolution of causal cognition as an example this article demonstrates the use of bridging arguments from archeological finds as starting point via identification/classification, behavioral reconstructions, and cognitive interpretations to psychological models. Generally, tool use is linked to some causal understanding/agent construal as the tool broadens the subject's specific capabilities by adding new characters to its action sphere. In human evolution, the distance between the primarily perceived problem and the solution satisfying this need increased markedly: from simple causal relations to effective chaining in secondary/modular tool use, and further to the use of composite tools, complementary tool sets and notional tools. This article describes the evolution of human tool behavior from the perspective of problem-solution-distance and discusses the implications for a linked development of causal cognition.
Numerous highly fragmented bones and some partial skeletons characterise the human skeletal remai... more Numerous highly fragmented bones and some partial skeletons characterise the human skeletal remains at the Early Neolithic Linear Pottery Culture (LBK) enclosure of Herxheim, near Landau, Rhineland-Palatinate. The predominant portion of the archaeological and osteological finds had been deposited within apparent ditches, and these finds and the possible circumstances of their deposition led to the preliminary assumption that they were the result of a warlike conflict. First doubts were raised by the very large total number of at least 450 individuals. Moreover, the evidence that those skull injuries caused by strong blows had all completely healed, that intentional manipulation of the skulls, cut-marks and fragmentation of the postcranial skeleton were consistent among the finds, and that the human remains were laid down in depots, all suggest a recurring ritual act rather than a single warlike incident. Therefore, the hypothesis of a wartime event at Herxheim should be dismissed.
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, Dec 1, 1995
In the early 1960s the grave of a probable donor was discovered in the St Veit church in Unterreg... more In the early 1960s the grave of a probable donor was discovered in the St Veit church in Unterregenbach, Stadt Langenburg, Kreis Crailsheim, southwestern Germany. After a reexamination, the skeleton may be regarded as clearly corresponding to the typical ciinical picture of a multiple myelomdplasrna cell myeloma. The 45-55-year-old female individual shows all the characteristics of a malignant plasma cell tumour, with specific osteolytic lesions of the skull, vertebrae, ribs, pelvis, scapulae and long bones, and even-sized single defects without reactive zones on the edges. Several pathological fractures of the ribs and a vertebral compression fracture can be observed. The gnawing-mark-like features on the inner surface of the compact bone and the 'punched-out' lesions on the outer are distinguishing marks of a multiple myeloma.
Im Beitrag von Toepfer wird die analytisch sinnvolle, aber partikulare Betrachtungsweise von ‚Wah... more Im Beitrag von Toepfer wird die analytisch sinnvolle, aber partikulare Betrachtungsweise von ‚Wahrnehmung‘ als in erster Linie kognitivem Phanomen des Moments gut dargestellt. Unterschiedliche Perspektiven auf die Organismus-Umwelt-Beziehung haben dabei Auswirkungen auf die Wahrnehmung und Behandlung von ‚Wahrnehmung‘. In meinem Kommentar wird ‚Wahrnehmung‘ demgegenuber als Performanz begriffen, als Prozess im Zusammenspiel von Korper, Geist und Verhalten in Wechselwirkung mit Umweltelementen, wobei drei Entwicklungsdimensionen eine Rolle spielen.
Haidle, MN (2011) Archaeological Approaches to Cognitive Evolution, in A Companion to Cognitive A... more Haidle, MN (2011) Archaeological Approaches to Cognitive Evolution, in A Companion to Cognitive Anthropology (eds DB Kronenfeld, G. Bennardo, VC de Munck and MD Fischer), Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK. doi: 10.1002/9781444394931. ch24
Tool use is the main database to track down behavioral developments in the archaeological record ... more Tool use is the main database to track down behavioral developments in the archaeological record and thus human evolution. Working-memory capacity and modern cognitive potential, however, are no simple and obvious characters in tool behavior. Coded in cognigrams, which allow a direct comparison, animal and human tool use can be examined for specific aspects of the working-memory capacity. Detailed studies of tool behavior of wasps, sea otters, bottlenose dolphins, and chimpanzees are presented and compared with the manufacture and use of Oldowan tools and Lower Paleolithic spears. Although this shows a wide range of problem-solution distances, problem solving in animals seems to be restricted to problem complexes for which a solution can be found in spatial and temporal vicinity. In human evolution, the complexity of tool behavior increases regarding the number of active foci managed at a time in an action, the number and diversity of operational steps in a problem-solution complex, and the spatial and temporal frame in which solutions are sought. The results suggest a gradual development of the different aspects of a complex capacity instead of a late introduction of a closed phenomenon with only different facets. Modern human behavioral and cultural capacity is not an easy thing to study. The characterizations of the subject itself and its cognitive basis vary with the disciplinary and theoretical standpoints of the researchers. The explanation for the evolution of modern behavioral, cultural, and cognitive capacities and the methodological approaches to track its developmental steps follow the common disciplinary pathways and are constrained by the available data. The different perspectives become evident when archaeological and neuropsychological approaches are compared. Combining these approaches offers the perfect solution to overcome the limitations of both attempts. It remains to be seen how close they can come to each other and intertwine to create a synthetic model. Archaeological definitions of modern human behavior focus generally on the presence or absence of certain material traits, such as blade technology, bone and antler industry, art, personal ornaments, and burials (for a compilation and critical assessment, see Belfer-Cohen and Hovers 2010; Davidson 2010, both in this issue; Henshilwood and Marean 2003).
Page 1. Miriam Noël Haidle (Tübingen) Menschenaffen? Affenmenschen? Menschen! Kognition und Sprac... more Page 1. Miriam Noël Haidle (Tübingen) Menschenaffen? Affenmenschen? Menschen! Kognition und Sprache im Altpaläolithikum Zusammenfassung Die Anfänge der den Menschen prägenden Merkmale Bewusstes Denken ...
This paper addresses problems in comparative innovation research and offers approaches to the sys... more This paper addresses problems in comparative innovation research and offers approaches to the systematic assessment of innovative potential based on the archaeological record. The problems involved in discussing differences in creativity and comparing the innovation rates of different groups, periods, and species are threefold: a) on the level of categorization, b) on the level of detection; and, c) on the level of preservation and resolution. Here, a qualitative and a quantitative scheme for categorizing innovations are proposed. For a detailed examination of innovations, the method of coding object behavior in cognigrams and effective chains is introduced. Finally, the problems of the preservation and detectability of the different categories within the archaeological record are discussed. In order to be able to address all aspects of the problem of identifying and specifying an innovation, the three problem levels are explained using a 21st century example. It is the aim of this paper to systematize the study of innovation and creativity based on the fragmentary remains of material culture that are available, and thus to increase objectivity in the evaluation of an imperfect data base.
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