Modern human origins, Paleolithic art, rock art

Truest Art of Them All: Paleolithic Cave Paintings of ChauvetTruest Art of Them All: Paleolithic Cave Paintings of Chauvet

by kali manitu

The wall paintings of Chauvet are instinctive and emotional; they reveal a choiceless impulsiveness, unpolluted by the... more The wall paintings of Chauvet are instinctive and emotional; they reveal a choiceless impulsiveness, unpolluted by the intellect. Paradoxically, an insightful investigation also divulges intellect as the root of freedom inherent in true art. Language, conscious communication, technology, and even self-consciousness reflect the emergence of human intellect in Chauvet cave art. In its naturalness, Chauvet cave art displays instinctive impulsiveness of creativity and freedom of communication rooted in intellect that is recognizable as the substratum in all artistic endeavors.

A CLASH OF CULTURES IN OUR GENES by Carol P. Christ

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project

I carry the exact replica of MDNA handed down from mother to daughter since the depths of the last Ice Age 17,000... more I carry the exact replica of MDNA handed down from mother to daughter since the depths of the last Ice Age 17,000 years ago.  My father carries  the YDNA of the Indo-Europeans handed down from father to son since the time when his male ancestors invaded Europe about 5000 years ago. 

My female ancestors moved with the seasons as they gathered fruits and nuts, roots and greens to feed their families. Some of them may have blown red ochre around their hands to leave their marks in ritual cave-wombs.

A palaeolithic map from 13,660 calBP: engraved stone blocks from the Late Magdalenian in Abauntz Cave (Navarra, Spain)

by Manuel Bea

Utrilla, P.; Mazo, C.; Sopena, MªC.; Martínez-Bea, M. & Domingo, R. 2009: "A palaeolithic map from 13,660 calBP: engraved stone blocks from the Late Magdalenian in Abauntz Cave (Navarra, Spain)". Journal of Human Evolution, 57:  99-111.

An Exceptional Archaeological Discovery - The Art Gallery in Coliboaia Cave Apuseni Mountains Romania

by calin ghemis

C. Ghemis, J. Clottes, B. Gely, F. Prud Homme, in Acta Archaeologica Carpathica, XLVI, 2011.

Hallucinogens and Rock Art: Altered States of Consciousness in the Palaeolithic Period

by Eva Hopman

A funny little paper written in my second year of the Bachelor Archaeology. Lacks thorough research but was an interesting topic for me to research. In English.

The paper goes into the origin of rock art and discusses the theory that two-dimensional art could have found its... more The paper goes into the origin of rock art and discusses the theory that two-dimensional art could have found its origin in altered states of consciousness. Etnographical examples of other 'primitive' cultures inducing altered states gives an idea of how this might have worked in the Palaeolithic.

Long Meg: rock art recording using 3D laser scanning.

by Kate Sharpe

Agents of Change: Modeling Biocultural Evolution in Upper Pleistocene Western Eurasia.

by Julien Riel-Salvatore

Barton, C.M., and J. Riel-Salvatore. 2012. Agents of Change: Modeling Biocultural Evolution in Upper Pleistocene Western Eurasia. Advances in Complex Systems 15 (1&2): in press.

The complex interactions between social learning and biological change are key to understanding the human species and... more The complex interactions between social learning and biological change are key to understanding the human species and its origins. Yet paleoanthropological models often focus only on the evolution of the human genome and physical characters, while behavior is treated as an epiphenomenon of biological evolution. We present the results of a series of experiments that use computational models, parametrized with new archaeological data, to simulate the complex dynamics of human biocultural evolution in the changing environment of OIS (Oxygen Isotope Stage) 3 of western Eurasia (∼58000–27000 ka). These experiments allow us to compare alternative trajectories of human evolution, resulting from differing combinations of socioecological behaviors and biological conditions, against the paleoanthropological record.

Keywords: Modeling; Neanderthals; modern human origins; human ecology; Pleistocene hominins; land-use; gene-culture coevolution.

Poster: Dibujos de ayer y hoy, modelos 3D de hoy y mañana. Modelización de materiales prehistóricos.

by Francisco José López Fraile

LÓPEZ FRAILE, F.J., pubished in "Actas de las Quintas Jornadas de Patrimonio Arqueológico en la Comunidad de Madrid (nov. 2007)", 2012, pp: 333-337.

Neue Ergebnisse zur Entstehung des modernen Menschen (1991)

by Brian Jones

Archäologische Informationen 14/2, 1991, 176—194, co-authored with Fritz Mangartz
This issue of Archäologische Informationenn is not available online, so I am posting this paper here.  For later issues, see http://www.dguf.de/dguf20/index.php/archaeologische-informationen-archaeologische-berichte/ai

Wir interpretieren die MtDNA-Studien so, das der gemeinsame MtDNA-Vorfahr aller modernen Menschen in den Zellen eines... more Wir interpretieren die MtDNA-Studien so, das der gemeinsame MtDNA-Vorfahr aller modernen Menschen in den Zellen eines Mitglieds jener Hominidengruppe <<untergebracht>> war, die von BRAUER (1990) als archaischer Homo sapiens definiert wird und aller Wahrscheinlichkeit nach im Zeitraum zwischen 300.000 und 200.000 B.P. in Afrika lebte. Sich an dernde Umweltfaktoren trieben die Evolution moderner Menschen aus einer undifferenzierten archaischen Ausgangspopulation zwischen 200.000 und 100.000 B.P. in Afrika voran (zu Modellen menschlicher Artenbildung in der sich anderenden afrikanischen Umwelt siehe FOLEY (1990). BRAUER ist uberzeugt, das das palaoanthropologische Material selbst fur die graduelle Evolution des modernen Homo sapiens in Afrika wahrend dieser Zeit spricht. Gleichzeitig scheinen andere Umweltbedingungen die Entwicklung des klassischen Neandertalers in Europa beeinflust zu haben. Wie das skelettmaterial von Skhul und Qafzeh andeutet, wanderte der moderne Homo sapiens kurz vor 100.000 B.P. aus seiner afrikanischen Heimat aus. Interessanterweise und sicherlich nicht zufallig fallt diese Phase mit dem Eem—Interglazial und dem Beginn der letzten Eiszeit, also dem Isotopenstadium 5, zusammen (127.000 - 70.000 B.P.). Wahrend dieser Zeit ereigneten sich grosmasstabliche Klimaanderungen, wie globale Erwarmung, Anstieg der Niederschlage und sich hebende Meeresspiegel. All das hatte starke Auswirkungen auf die afrikanischen Biotope, was Wanderungen von Menschen genau wie auch anderen Tierarten hervor rief. Gegen Ende dieser Phase treten im archaologischen Befund weit verbreitet techologische Innovationen in der  Steinartefaktproduktion auf.

Human Artistic Behaviour: Adaptation, Byproduct, or Cultural Group Selection?

by Helen De Cruz

Co-authored with Johan De Smedt. De Smedt, J. & De Cruz, H. (2012). Human artistic behaviour: Adaptation, byproduct, or cultural group selection? In: K. Plaisance & T. Reydon (Eds.), Philosophy of behavioral biology (pp. 167–187). Springer, Boston Studies in Philosophy of Science.

Evolutionary accounts of art fall naturally into two categories: those that propose that art is an adaptation, and... more Evolutionary accounts of art fall naturally into two categories: those that propose that art is an adaptation, and those that propose it is a byproduct of adaptations which evolved for different purposes. Although each of these positions can be supported by a wide range of empirical evidence, we will argue that there are shortcomings in each type of explanation. We will propose the alternative that the earliest art arose as a product of cultural group selection, drawing on theoretical models of altruism, anthropological observations of the use of art in extant small-scale societies and archaeological findings from Upper Palaeolithic Europe, in particular the Magdalenian cultural complex.

A Social Network Analysis Approach to Henrich’s Model of Biased Skill Transmission: implications for the MSA – LSA transition.

by Brian Jones

Text for posted talk of the same name.
Paper Presented at the 2011 76th Annual SAA Meetings, Sacramento, CA
March 31, 2011

Social signaling is an aspect of competitive prestige-seeking behavior that appears by 75,000 years ago in the... more Social signaling is an aspect of competitive prestige-seeking behavior that appears by 75,000 years ago in the MSA.  The increased use of beads at this time likely reflects a heightened desire to send social signals and the presence of an increasingly competitive social landscape.  In fact, the emphasis on prestige-seeking may be the one thing that most separates us from our archaic cousins such as the Neanderthals and gave us a competitive advantage over these populations outside of Africa.  Finally, the LSA may simply mark the social integration of most sub-populations across Africa.  As such it may have little to do with the development of specific modern cognitive abilities.

Late Pleistocene demography and the appearance of modern human behavior

by Adam Powell

DE MALTRAVIESO AL VALLE DEL GUADIANA. UN REPASO AL ARTE RUPESTRE PALEOLÍTICO EN EXTREMADURA

by Hipolito Collado Giraldo

MEMORIAS DEL MUSEO DE CÁCERES. VOL. VIII

Estudio de los enclaves con arte rupestre en la región de Extremadura con los últimos datos sobre las investigaciones... more Estudio de los enclaves con arte rupestre en la región de Extremadura con los últimos datos sobre las investigaciones realizadas en los mismos

SMEARED SOOT AND BLACK BLOOD: REINTRODUCING THE BROWN BEAR TO THE PYRENEES AND ITS FESTIVALS

by Patrick Mabey

A thesis submitted to the faculty of The University of Utah in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Environmental Humanities
Department of English
August 2007

Currently underway in the Pyrenees Mountains is a reterritorialization that raises numerous polemical issues including... more Currently underway in the Pyrenees Mountains is a reterritorialization that raises numerous polemical issues including the nature of place-making, the influence politics
and economy have on human-wildlife interactions, perceptions of wildlife, and environmental ethics and justice. The human-bear interface throughout Pyrenean history,
alongside the present international 2006-2009 Restoration and Conservation Plan between France, Spain, and Andorra, reveals a complex and deeply entrenched coinhabitation,
decimation, and reintroduction hundreds of thousands of years in the making. With nineteen to twenty-three bears currently inhabiting the mountain range, and another ten more transplants from Slovenia projected over the next three years,
Pyrenean brown bear populations have the potential to resurge. Yet, this repopulation must be negotiated within economic and recreational contexts such as transhumance,
logging, hunting, skiing, and highway construction, and historical contexts including anthropocentric ideologies, a commerce of ursine fur and fat, political land
reorganization, and taxation.
Using first-hand experience at the Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste Bear Festival in 2004 as a narrative frame, this creative explication uses various types of French and English literature and individual voices to represent the Pyrenean body. Interdisciplinary lenses, including ethnography, anthropology, biology, history, economy, and politics have been used to bring about a multifaceted perspective on the Pyrenean topocosm. In part, this work focuses on the need for a reconstruction of ecocentric, regional and global Bear Ceremonial practices, especially in the context of performance art and festivals, in order to welcome bear repopulation.
The future survival of the Pyrenean-Slovenian brown bear depends upon a synthesis of characteristics seen in shepherds, bear exhibitors, hunters, and aboriginal
ecocentric beliefs. A new pattern of thinking and myth-making is presently happening, in which new festivals are engaging in a discourse infused with biology and the needs of
bears. Organizations involved in the direct sale of bioregional staples such as the Fromage Pé Descaous, a cheese imprinted with a bear’s paw, are not only yielding increased profits, but are bridging the gap between ecology and economy. Because of its
economic importance, and its relevance to both international species initiatives and bioregional festivals, the hope of this thesis is discovery and application.

Words Can Speak Louder Than Actions

by Robert H. Gargett

POSTPALEO VALENCIA

by Hipolito Collado Giraldo

Modeling Human Ecodynamics and Biocultural Interactions in the Late Pleistocene of Western Eurasia

by Julien Riel-Salvatore

Barton, C. Michael, Julien Riel-Salvatore, John M. Anderies and Gabriel Popescu. 2011. Human Ecology 39 (6); DOI: 10.1007/s10745-011-9433-8

Given the complex and multidimensional nature of human evolution, we need to develop theoretical and methodological... more Given the complex and multidimensional nature of human evolution, we need to develop theoretical and methodological frameworks to account for and model the dynamic feedbacks between co-operational biological and cultural evolutionary systems to better understand the processes that produced modern human behavior. Equally important is the generation of explicit theory-based models that can be tested against the empirical paleoanthropological record. We present a case study that examines evidence for culturally-driven behavioral change among Late Pleistocene hominins that altered the social niche occupied by hominins in western Eurasia, with consequences for subsequent biological and cultural evolution. We draw on a large sample of 167 Pleistocene assemblages across western Eurasia and employ mathematical and computational modeling to explore the feedbacks between cultural and biological inheritance. Shifts in land-use strategies changed the opportunities for social and biological interaction among Late Pleistocene hominins in western Eurasia with a cascade of consequences for cultural and biological evolution, including the disappearance of Neanderthals from the fossil and archaeological records, and the acceleration of cultural evolution among ancestors of modern humans.

A cognitive approach to the earliest art

by Johan De Smedt

Co-authored with Helen De Cruz

This paper takes a cognitive perspective to assess the significance of some Late Palaeolithic artefacts (sculptures... more This paper takes a cognitive perspective to assess the significance of some Late Palaeolithic artefacts (sculptures and engraved objects) for philosophical concepts of art. We examine cognitive capacities that are necessary to produce and recognize objects that are denoted as art. These include the ability to attribute and infer design (design stance), the ability to distinguish between the materiality of an object and its meaning (symbol-mindedness), and an aesthetic sensitivity to some perceptual stimuli. We investigate to what extent these cognitive processes played a role in the production and appreciation of some recently discovered Palaeolithic artefacts.

A cognitive approach to the earliest art

by Helen De Cruz

With Johan De Smedt

This paper takes a cognitive perspective to assess the significance of some Late Palaeolithic artefacts (sculptures... more This paper takes a cognitive perspective to assess the significance of some Late Palaeolithic artefacts (sculptures and engraved objects) for philosophical concepts of art. We examine cognitive capacities that are necessary to produce and recognize objects that are denoted as art. These include the ability to attribute and infer design (design stance), the ability to distinguish between the materiality of an object and its meaning (symbol-mindedness), and an aesthetic sensitivity to some perceptual stimuli. We investigate to what extent these cognitive processes played a role in the production and appreciation of some recently discovered Palaeolithic artefacts.

The painting and the tree: symbolism in the Upper Palaeolithic.

by Iain Davidson

Davidson, I. 2005. The painting and the tree: symbolism in the Upper Palaeolithic.  A tribute to a great Basque scholar. Munibe (Antropologia-Arkeologia) 57:197-205.