Culture, Mind, and Brain in Human Evolution

doi:10.1017/9781108695374.005

2 - Culture, Mind, and Brain in Human Evolution

An Extended Evolutionary Perspective on Paleolithic Toolmaking as Embodied Practice

from Section 1 - The Co-emergence of Culture, Mind, and Brain

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 September 2020

Dietrich Stout

Edited by

Laurence J. Kirmayer ,

Carol M. Worthman ,

Shinobu Kitayama ,

Robert Lemelson and

Constance A. Cummings

Show author details

Laurence J. Kirmayer: Affiliation:
McGill University, Montréal
Carol M. Worthman: Affiliation:
Emory University, Atlanta
Shinobu Kitayama: Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Robert Lemelson: Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles
Constance A. Cummings: Affiliation:
The Foundation for Psychocultural Research

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Summary

Ancient stone tools provide a unique source of empirical evidence for reconstructing the evolutionary origins of human culture, mind, and brain. As a key component of hominid adaptations throughout the Paleolithic, stone tools not only document human evolution but likely helped to shape it. Properly interpreting this evidence requires both “middle-range” theory linking archaeologically observable material remains to the behaviors that created them and high-level theory appropriate for placing these reconstructed behaviors in a broader evolutionary framework. An extended evolutionary perspective on Paleolithic toolmaking as embodied practice integrates levels of analysis by emphasizing the interaction of evolutionary and behavioral processes unfolding on multiple spatiotemporal scales. Although much work remains to be done, initial efforts toward an integrated evolutionary neuroscience of toolmaking are beginning to trace the evolution of a uniquely human technological niche rooted in a shared primate heritage of visuomotor coordination and dexterous manipulation.

Keywords

paleolithic archaeology human evolution cognition stone tools neuroscience cultural evolution experimental archaeology 4E cognition extended evolutionary synthesis

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: Culture, Mind, and Brain
Emerging Concepts, Models, and Applications
, pp. 55 - 87

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108695374.005 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2020

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