Neanderthal Lifeways, Subsistence and Technology

Neanderthal Lifeways, Subsistence and Technology
Author: Nicholas J. Conard
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2011-02-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9400704151

The 150th anniversary of the discovery of the famous Neanderthal fossils gave reason for an international and interdisciplinary symposium in Bonn/Germany. The present book arose from this congress and focuses on multiple aspects of archaeological investigation on Neanderthal lifeways. In-depth studies of top-ranking scientists provide a detailed and comprehensive survey of contemporary research on our Pleistocene relatives. Examinations and debates are embedded in a variety of regions and time frames. Chronology, subsistence, land use, and cultural adaptations among late Neanderthals form the major trajectories of the book. The wide range of approaches involved, leads to an increasing understanding of the facets of and the variability of Neanderthal behavioural patterns. The present volume is complemented by a paleontologically orientated publication of the same congress (edited by Gerd-Christian Weniger and Silvana Condemi).

Thin on the Ground

Thin on the Ground
Author: Steven E. Churchill
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 470
Release: 2014-10-06
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1118590872

Thin on the Ground: Neandertal Biology, Archeology and Ecology synthesizes the current knowledge about our sister species the Neandertals, combining data from a variety of disciplines to reach a cohesive theory behind Neandertal low population densities and relatively low rate of technological innovation. The book highlights and contrasts the differences between Neandertals and early modern humans and explores the morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptive solutions which led to the extinction of the Neandertals and the population expansion of modern humans. Written by a world recognized expert in physical anthropology, Thin on the Ground: Neandertal Biology, Archaeology and Ecology will be a must have title for anyone interested in the rise and fall of the Neandertals.

Origins of Human Innovation and Creativity

Origins of Human Innovation and Creativity
Author: Scott A. Elias
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 142
Release: 2012-08-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 0444538216

Innovation and creativity are two of the key characteristics that distinguish cultural transmission from biological transmission. This book explores a number of questions concerning the nature and timing of the origins of human creativity. What were the driving factors in the development of new technologies? What caused the stasis in stone tool technological innovation in the Early Pleistocene? Were there specific regions and episodes of enhanced technological development, or did it occur at a steady pace where ancestral humans lived? The authors are archaeologists who address these questions, armed with data from ancient artefacts such as shell beads used as jewelry, primitive musical instruments, and sophisticated techniques required to fashion certain kinds of stone into tools. Providing 'state of art' discussions that step back from the usual archaeological publications that focus mainly on individual site discoveries, this book presents the full picture on how and why creativity in Middle to Late Pleistocene archeology/anthropology evolved. Gives a full, original and multidisciplinary perspective on how and why creativity evolved in the Middle to Late Pleistocene Enhances our understanding of the big leaps forward in creativity at certain times Assesses the intellectual creativity of Homo erectus, H. neanderthalensis, and H. sapiens via their artefacts

The Archaeology of Large-Scale Manipulation of Prey

The Archaeology of Large-Scale Manipulation of Prey
Author: Kristen A. Carlson
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2018-05-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1607326825

The Archaeology of Large-Scale Manipulation of Prey explores the social and functional aspects of large-scale hunting adaptations in the archaeological record. Mass-kill hunting strategies are ubiquitous in human prehistory and exhibit culturally specific economic, social, environmental, and demographic markers. Here, seven case studies—primarily from the Americas and spanning from the Folsom period on the Great Plains to the ethnographic present in Australia—expand the understanding of large-scale hunting methods beyond the customary role of subsistence and survival to include the social and political realms within which large-scale hunting adaptations evolved. Addressing a diverse assortment of archaeological issues relating to the archaeological signatures and interpretation of mass-kill sites, The Archaeology of Large-Scale Manipulation of Prey reevaluates and rephrases the deep-time development of hunting and the themes of subsistence to provide a foundation for the future study of hunting adaptations around the globe. Authors illustrate various perspectives and avenues of investigation, making this an important contribution to the field of zooarchaeology and the study of hunter-gatherer societies throughout history. The book will appeal to archaeologists, ethnologists, and ecologists alike. Contributors: Jane Balme, Jonathan Driver, Adam C. Graves, David Maxwell, Ulla Odgaard, John D. Speth, María Nieves Zedeño

Reassessing Paleolithic Subsistence

Reassessing Paleolithic Subsistence
Author: Eugène Morin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2012-03-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107023270

Contributes to the debate about modern human origins by exploring the diets and foraging patterns of both Neandertals and early modern humans.

Palaeolithic Pioneers: Behaviour, abilities, and activity of early Homo in European landscapes around the western Mediterranean basin ~1.3-0.05 Ma.

Palaeolithic Pioneers: Behaviour, abilities, and activity of early Homo in European landscapes around the western Mediterranean basin ~1.3-0.05 Ma.
Author: Michael J. Walker
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2017-06-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1784916218

Archaic humans were present for over a million years in western Mediterranean Europe where they left very many traces of their early stone-age activities and behaviour, and sometimes even human skeletal remains. This book evaluates archaeological findings about their life-ways at many important sites in Italy, southern France, and Spain.

Early Human Behaviour in Global Context

Early Human Behaviour in Global Context
Author: Ravi Korisettar
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 506
Release: 2003-09-02
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1134828551

Early Human Behaviour in a Global Context will be of use to students and professionals who are interested in prehistory, Paleolithic archaeology, and paleoanthropology. Those interested in our ancestors and their place in the natural world will also benefit from the information presented in this book. Chapters focus on: * the nature of archaeological evidence * stone tool technology * subsistence practices * settlement distributions.

The Palaeolithic Societies of Europe

The Palaeolithic Societies of Europe
Author: Clive Gamble
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 532
Release: 1999-10-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521658720

Palaeolithic societies have been a neglected topic in the discussion of human origins. In this book, which succeeds and replaces The Palaeolithic Settlement of Europe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1986, Clive Gamble challenges the established view that the social life of Europeans over the 500,000 years of the European Palaeolithic must remain a mystery. In the past forty years archaeologists have recovered a wealth of information from sites throughout the continent. Professor Gamble now introduces a new approach to this material. He examines the archaeological evidence from stone tools, hunting and campsites for information on the scale of social interaction, and the forms of social life. Taking a pan-European view of the archaeological evidence, he reconstructs ancient human societies, and introduces new perspectives on the unique social experience of human beings.