Primatology, Developmental Psychology, and the Birth of Cognitive Archaeology

Summary

Charting the emergence of human cognition from archaeological remains requires reconstructing the probable behavioral capacities of the last common chimpanzee/human ancestor and delineating the cognitive, motor, and social abilities that underpin the production of hominin material cultures. Hence, the birth and growth of cognitive archaeology has long depended upon research findings in other disciplines. This paper provides a brief overview of historical perceptions of adult and immature human and non-human primate cognitive capacities, brain plasticity and genetic assimilation. It suggests that the clearest evidence of emerging human cognition derives from archaeological remains indicating the construction of tools, materials, and activities from multiple physical, motor, and/or social units. Even among populations with essentially modern genetically-based neurological capacities, adult cognitive and motor skills would have varied depending on material and social inputs during infancy and childhood.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Cognitive Archaeology

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