DOCSLIB.ORG

Paleodemographic Modeling in the Lower Mississippi River Valley

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

PALEODEMOGRAPHIC MODELING IN THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy BY JEFFREY S. ALVEY Michael O’Brien & Karthik Panchanathan, Co-Dissertation Supervisors JULY 2019 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled PALEODEMOGRAPHIC MODELING IN THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY presented by Jeffrey S. Alvey, a candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Michael J. O’Brien (co-chair) Karthik Panchanathan (co-chair) R. Lee Lyman Michael D. Glascock DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to Dr. Janet Rafferty for teaching me the meaning of dedication and for helping me to always see the bigger picture. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation represents the conclusion of my 14-year academic career. Countless individuals have contributed to this journey and I thank them all. My formative undergraduate years at Mississippi State University were spent under the mentorship of a number of dedicated professors including Janet Rafferty, Evan Peacock, Homes Hogue, Jimmy Hardin, Joe Seger, and Paul Jacobs. All of these individuals played critically important roles in my development as an archaeologist. During my time at the University of Missouri I had the great luck to study with a group of individuals whose work I had long admired. I thank my dissertation committee, Michael O’Brien, Karthik Panchanathan, Lee Lyman, and Michael Glascock, for their encouragement and guidance in navigating this long and stressful process. Special thanks are also due to the many archaeologists whose diligent efforts to combine radiocarbon dates into state or regional databases made the research presented here possible. Those who deserve special thanks include David Abbott, John Connaway, Lela Donat, Heather Gibb, Robert Kelly, Michael Meinkoth, Erick Robinson, John Samuelsen, Paige Silcox, Douglas Sims, and Kevin Smith. Finally, I thank my parents, Charles and Louise Alvey, for their love and unfailing support and for setting me on this path so many years ago. I know you would be proud. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. ii LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................1 2 Exploring the Relationship between Maize Agriculture and Population Growth in the Central and Lower Mississippi River Valley and Adjacent Uplands ............................................................................3 Introduction ............................................................................................3 Paleodemography ...................................................................................4 Study Area .............................................................................................8 Materials and Methods .........................................................................12 Results ..................................................................................................22 Discussion ............................................................................................27 Conclusion ...........................................................................................35 3 Assessing Episodes of Prehistoric Regional Population Decline in the Lower Mississippi River Valley and Adjacent Uplands ........................38 Introduction ..........................................................................................38 Paleodemography in the Mississippi River Valley ..............................40 Materials and Methods .........................................................................43 Study Area ...........................................................................................46 Results ..................................................................................................49 Discussion ............................................................................................53 Conclusions ..........................................................................................58 4 The Problem of Undersampling for Models of Archaeological Occupations Derived from Shovel Testing and Its Consequences iii for Significance Determinations ......................................................................61 Introduction ..........................................................................................61 Sampling in Phase I Investigations ......................................................65 Assessing the Construction of Occupational Models in CRM ............70 Study Area ...........................................................................................73 Materials and Methods .........................................................................75 Results ..................................................................................................80 Discussion ............................................................................................88 Conclusions ..........................................................................................92 5 Conclusions ......................................................................................................95 6 References Cited ..............................................................................................96 7 Vita .................................................................................................................117 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 2.1 Map showing the study region (cross-hatched) ...........................................9 2.2 Map showing the eco-zones defined for the study area and the locations of archaeological sites (black dots) from which radiocarbon dates were used ......................................................................11 2.3 Summed probability distributions demonstrating the effects of changes in sample size on the Lower LMV Alluvial Plain sample ...........22 2.4 Summed probability distribution curve (yellow) generated on 70 radiocarbon dates of maize specimens from 47 archaeological sites in the study area, as well as Kentucky and Illinois, overlaid on the curve (black) generated on 2,420 radiocarbon dates from 558 archaeological sites in the study area representing the past 6,000 years .................................................................................................24 2.5 SPD curve (yellow) generated on 70 radiocarbon dates of maize specimens from 47 archaeological sites in the study area, as well as Kentucky and Illinois, overlaid on SPD curves generated by eco-region for the past 6,000 years ............................................................26 2.6 Summed probability distribution curves generated on radiocarbon dates of maize specimens subdivided by geographic regions spanning the region between the study area and Mexico ..........................27 3.1 Map showing the eco-zones defined for the study area and the locations of archaeological sites (black dots) from which v radiocarbon dates were used ......................................................................48 3.2 Summed probability distribution curve generated on 1,952 radiocarbon dates from 527 archaeological sites in the study area representing the past 6,000 years ...............................................................50 3.3 SPD curves generated by eco-region for the past 6,000 years ...................50 3.4 Curves showing elevational shifts in settlement through time. Elevation values represent the average elevation of radiocarbon dates based on the site locations in Arkansas (orange line), Mississippi (blue line), and Louisiana (green line) from which they were obtained, which was calculated for each period shown along the x-axis. Shaded areas represent the 95% confidence interval ...............52 4.1 Map showing the locations of 44 sites used in this study ..........................74 4.2 Contour maps showing the excavation of shovel tests on a 10-m cruciform (A), 10-m grid (B), and 5-m grid (C) at site 22SM1436 to illustrate how shovel test patterning differs between each strategy. Gray numbers represent positive shovel tests that resulted from a change in shovel test patterning from the previous state ............................................................................................................76 4.3 Graph of changes in site size when comparing shovel testing on a 10-m cruciform (lower black dot) and 10-m grid (upper black dot) among 30 sites from study 1. Sites represented by single dot experienced no change ..............................................................82 4.4 Graph of difference values in artifact count and artifact type vi richness when comparing shovel testing on a 10-m cruciform and 10-m grid among 30 sites from study 1 ..............................................82 4.5 Graph of changes in site size when comparing shovel testing
Recommended publications
  • Married Too Young? the Behavioral Ecology of 'Child Marriage'

    Married Too Young? the Behavioral Ecology of 'Child Marriage'

    social sciences $€ £ ¥ Review Married Too Young? The Behavioral Ecology of ‘Child Marriage’ Susan B. Schaffnit 1,* and David W. Lawson 2 1 Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16801, USA 2 Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: For girls and women, marriage under 18 years is commonplace in many low-income nations today and was culturally widespread historically. Global health campaigns refer to marriage below this threshold as ‘child marriage’ and increasingly aim for its universal eradication, citing its apparent negative wellbeing consequences. Here, we outline and evaluate four alternative hypotheses for the persistence of early marriage, despite its associations with poor wellbeing, arising from the theoretical framework of human behavioral ecology. First, early marriage may be adaptive (e.g., it maximizes reproductive success), even if detrimental to wellbeing, when life expectancy is short. Second, parent– offspring conflict may explain early marriage, with parents profiting economically at the expense of their daughter’s best interests. Third, early marriage may be explained by intergenerational conflict, whereby girls marry young to emancipate themselves from continued labor within natal households. Finally, both daughters and parents from relatively disadvantaged backgrounds favor early marriage as a ‘best of a bad job strategy’ when it represents the best option given a lack of feasible alternatives. The explanatory power of each hypothesis is context-dependent, highlighting the complex drivers of life history transitions and reinforcing the need for context-specific policies Citation: Schaffnit, Susan B., and addressing the vulnerabilities of adolescence worldwide.
  • Quantifying Clovis Dynamics: Confronting Theory with Models and Data Across Scales

    Quantifying Clovis Dynamics: Confronting Theory with Models and Data Across Scales

    QUANTIFYING CLOVIS DYNAMICS: CONFRONTING THEORY WITH MODELS AND DATA ACROSS SCALES by MARCUS JOHN HAMILTON B.Sc., Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 1998 M.S., Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, 2002 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ANTHROPOLOGY The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico August, 2008 Marcus J. Hamilton: Quantifying Clovis Dynamics ©2008, Marcus John Hamilton ii Marcus J. Hamilton: Quantifying Clovis Dynamics DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my wife, Ana Desiree Davidson, and the two halves of my family, the UK Hamilton side and the US Davidson side, for all their love and support. I would also like to dedicate this dissertation to two old friends who were instrumental in getting me interested in archaeology, Briggs Buchanan, and Wayne Warren Kinney, Jr. iii Marcus J. Hamilton: Quantifying Clovis Dynamics ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee for their advice and guidance over the years. They are co-chairs, Bruce Huckell and Jim Boone, 3rd department member Ozzie Pearson, and outside member Vance Holliday. Much of this dissertation would not have been possible without access to the Rio Grande Valley Clovis collections, granted by Dr. Robert H. Weber, of Socorro, New Mexico. Bob sadly died in February, 2008 after leading a long and productive life, very much in the tradition of classic Southwest scientists. Over his 80+ years Bob amassed an encyclopedic knowledge of the geology, geography, archaeology and history of the region, much of it on foot with a canteen and map.
  • Integrative Anthropology and the Human Niche: Toward a Contemporary Approach to Human Evolution

    Integrative Anthropology and the Human Niche: Toward a Contemporary Approach to Human Evolution

    AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST Integrative Anthropology and the Human Niche: Toward a Contemporary Approach to Human Evolution Agustın´ Fuentes ABSTRACT A niche is the structural, temporal, and social context in which a species exists. Over the last two million years, the human lineage underwent clear morphological changes alongside less easily measurable, but significant, behavioral and cognitive shifts as it forged, and was shaped by, new niches. During this time period, core human patterns emerged, including the following: hypercooperation; lengthy childhood and complex parenting; intricate and diverse foraging and hunting patterns; novel and dynamic material and symbolic cultures; and complex communication and information sharing, eventually resulting in language. Approaches to human evolution grounded in paleoanthropology and archaeology offer fundamental insights into our past, and traditional evolutionary the- ory offers a strong grounding for explaining them. However, given the centrality of distinctive physiological, social, semiotic, and cognitive processes in human evolutionary histories, a broader anthropological approach can facilitate additional understanding of the human story. An integrative anthropology, reaching across subfields and foci, com- bined with contemporary evolutionary theory is an approach that can enhance our abilities to model and understand human evolution. [integrative anthropology, niche construction, evolution, extended evolutionary synthesis, Homo, semiosis, Pleistocene] RESUMEN Un nicho es el contexto estructural,
  • Contributions by Employer

    Contributions by Employer

    2/4/2019 CONTRIBUTIONS FOR HILLARY CLINTON FOR PRESIDENT HOME / CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS AND DATA / PRESIDENTIAL REPORTS / 2008 APRIL MONTHLY / REPORT FOR C00431569 / CONTRIBUTIONS BY EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS BY EMPLOYER HILLARY CLINTON FOR PRESIDENT PO Box 101436 Arlington, Virginia 22210 FEC Committee ID #: C00431569 This report contains activity for a Primary Election Report type: April Monthly This Report is an Amendment Filed 05/22/2008 EMPLOYER SUM NO EMPLOYER WAS SUPPLIED 6,724,037.59 (N,P) ENERGY, INC. 800.00 (SELF) 500.00 (SELF) DOUGLASS & ASSOCI 200.00 - 175.00 1)SAN FRANCISCO PARATRAN 10.50 1-800-FLOWERS.COM 10.00 101 CASINO 187.65 115 R&P BEER 50.00 1199 NATIONAL BENEFIT FU 120.00 1199 SEIU 210.00 1199SEIU BENEFIT FUNDS 45.00 11I NETWORKS INC 500.00 11TH HOUR PRODUCTIONS, L 250.00 1291/2 JAZZ GRILLE 400.00 15 WEST REALTY ASSOCIATES 250.00 1730 CORP. 140.00 1800FLOWERS.COM 100.00 1ST FRANKLIN FINANCIAL 210.00 20 CENTURY FOX TELEVISIO 150.00 20TH CENTURY FOX 250.00 20TH CENTURY FOX FILM CO 50.00 20TH TELEVISION (FOX) 349.15 21ST CENTURY 100.00 24 SEVEN INC 500.00 24SEVEN INC 100.00 3 KIDS TICKETS INC 121.00 3 VILLAGE CENTRAL SCHOOL 250.00 3000BC 205.00 312 WEST 58TH CORP 2,000.00 321 MANAGEMENT 150.00 321 THEATRICAL MGT 100.00 http://docquery.fec.gov/pres/2008/M4/C00431569/A_EMPLOYER_C00431569.html 1/336 2/4/2019 CONTRIBUTIONS FOR HILLARY CLINTON FOR PRESIDENT 333 WEST END TENANTS COR 100.00 360 PICTURES 150.00 3B MANUFACTURING 70.00 3D INVESTMENTS 50.00 3D LEADERSHIP, LLC 50.00 3H TECHNOLOGY 100.00 3M 629.18 3M COMPANY 550.00 4-C (SOCIAL SERVICE AGEN 100.00 402EIGHT AVE CORP 2,500.00 47 PICTURES, INC.
  • Paleo-Indians

    Paleo-Indians

    Paleo-Indians “Prehistory of the Americas” redirects here. For other 15 000 4500 aspects of the prehistory of the Americas, see History of 25 000 40 000 the Americas § Pre-colonization. 12 000 100 000 70 000 Paleo-Indians (Paleoindians) or Paleoamericans is a 200 000 30 000 1500 classification term given to the first peoples who entered, 50 000 Homo sapiens 1500 and subsequently inhabited, the American continents dur- Homo neanderthalensis Homo erectus ing the final glacial episodes of the late Pleistocene pe- riod. The prefix “paleo-" comes from the Greek ad- jective palaios (παλαιός), meaning “old”. The term Map of early human migrations based on the Out of Africa the- [7] “Paleo-Indians” applies specifically to the lithic period ory. in the Western Hemisphere and is distinct from the term "Paleolithic".[1] routes traveled, are subject to ongoing research and [8] Evidence suggests big-animal hunters crossed the Bering discussion. The traditional theory has been that these Strait from Eurasia into North America over a land early migrants moved into the Beringia land bridge be- and ice bridge (Beringia), that existed between 45,000- tween eastern Siberia and present-day Alaska around [9][10] 12,000 BCE (47,000-14,000 BP).[2] Small isolated 40,000 – 17,000 years ago, when sea levels were [11] groups of hunter-gatherers migrated alongside herds of significantly lowered due to the Quaternary glaciation. large herbivores far into Alaska. From 16,500-13,500 These people are believed to have followed herds of now- BCE (18,500-15,500 BP), ice-free corridors developed extinct pleistocene megafauna along ice-free corridors along the Pacific coast and valleys of North America.[3] that stretched between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice [12] This allowed animals, followed by humans, to migrate sheets.
  • Archaeological Survey of the Chesapeake Bay Shorelines Associated with Accomack County and Northampton County, Virginia

    Archaeological Survey of the Chesapeake Bay Shorelines Associated with Accomack County and Northampton County, Virginia

    ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE ATLANTIC COAST SHORELINES ASSOCIATED WITH ACCOMACK COUNTY AND NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA Survey and Planning Report Series No. 7 Virginia Department of Historic Resources 2801 Kensington Avenue Richmond, VA 23221 2003 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE ATLANTIC COAST SHORELINES ASSOCIATED WITH ACCOMACK COUNTY AND NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA Virginia Department of Historic Resources Survey and Planning Report Series No. 7 Author: Darrin L. Lowery Chesapeake Bay Watershed Archaeological Research Foundation 5264 Blackwalnut Point Road, P.O. Box 180 Tilghman, MD 21671 2003 ii ABSTRACT This report summarizes the results of an archaeological survey conducted along the Atlantic shorelines of both Accomack County and Northampton County, Virginia. Accomack and Northampton Counties represent the southernmost extension of the Delmarva Peninsula. The study area encompasses all of the lands adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean and shorelines associated with the back barrier island bays. A shoreline survey was conducted along the Atlantic Ocean to gauge the erosion threat to the archaeological resources situated along the shoreline. Archaeological sites along shorelines are subjected to numerous natural processes which hinder site visibility and limit archaeological interpretations. Summaries of these natural processes are presented in this report. The primary goal of the project was to locate, identify, and record any archaeological sites or remains along the Atlantic seashore that are threatened by shoreline erosion. The project also served as a test of a prehistoric site predictive/settlement model that has been utilized during other archaeological surveys along the Chesapeake Bay shorelines and within the interior sections of the Delmarva Peninsula. The prehistoric site predictive/settlement model is presented in detail using archaeological examples from Maryland and Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
  • Canoes and Cultural Evolution

    Canoes and Cultural Evolution

    COMMENTARY Canoes and cultural evolution Stephen Shennan* Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London WC1H 0PY, United Kingdom ver the last 30 years, the idea the way in which cultural entities and cultural traits that characterize agricul- that the processes producing processes closely match Darwin’s origi- ture spread and, in some cases, subse- cultural stability and change nal formulation of the theory of evolu- quently influenced genetic evolution are analogous in important tion has recently been shown in detail [e.g., the ability to digest lactose (6)]. Orespects to those of biological evolution by Mesoudi et al. (5)]. In the most gen- An analogous process of cultural selec- has become increasingly popular. Bio- eral terms, parallel mechanisms for in- tion can also operate if individuals with logical evolution is characterized by heritance, mutation, selection, and drift certain cultural traits are more likely to changing frequencies of genes in popula- act on culture as they do on genes. be taken as models for imitation than tions through time as a result of such In the case of culture, the inheritance others, by virtue of those traits, and processes as natural selection; likewise, mechanism is social learning: People these individuals in turn become suc- cultural evolution refers to the changing learn ways to think and act from others. cessful models as a result. The traits distributions of cultural attributes in Of course, the routes through which cul- concerned will become more prevalent populations, which are affected by pro- ture is inherited are much more diverse even if they have no bearing on repro- cesses such as natural selection but also than those for genes (1), and different ductive success whatsoever and, indeed, by others that have no analogue in ge- routes have different consequences for even if they are deleterious to it, be- netic evolution.
  • Evolution of Wisdom: Major and Minor Keys

    Evolution of Wisdom: Major and Minor Keys

    EVOLUTION OF WISDOM: MAJOR AND MINOR KEYS AGUSTÍN FUENTES AND CELIA DEANE-DRUMMOND Center for Theology, Science, and Human Flourishing University of Notre Dame Evolution of Wisdom: Major and Minor Keys by Center for Theology, Science, and Human Flourishing is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Copyright © 2018 Center for Theology, Science, and Human Flourishing, University of Notre Dame CONTENTS Contents v Acknowledgements vii List of Contributors viii Introduction: Transdisciplinarity, Evolution, and Engaging Wisdom 1 Agustín Fuentes and Celia Deane-Drummond PART I. INTERDISCIPLINARY WISDOM 1. Independent Reason, Faith, and a Distinctively Human Wisdom 7 Angela Carpenter 2. Re-Engaging Theology and Evolutionary Biology: The Nature of True Wisdom 15 Nicola Hoggard Creegan 3. Human Origins and the Emergence of a Distinctively Human Imagination 25 J. Wentzel van Huyssteen PART II. EVOLUTIONARY NARRATIVES 4. Technological Intelligence or Social Wisdom? Promiscuous Sociality, Things, 41 and Networks in Human Evolution Fiona Coward 5. The Palaeolithic Archaeological Record and the Materiality of Imagination: A 57 Response to J. Wentzel van Huyssteen Jennifer French 6. How did Hominins become Human? 64 Marc Kissel PART III. WISDOM AND THE MIND 7. De-Centering Humans within Cognitive Systems 83 Marcus Baynes-Rock 8. Practical Wisdom: Good Reasoning or Good Action? 89 Craig IfGand 9. Concepts of Reason and Wisdom 96 Maureen Junker-Kenny 10. Wisdom and Freedom as Reason - Sensitive Action Control 104 Aku Visala PART IV. WISDOM IN THE MINOR KEY 11. Evolution in the Minor Key 115 Tim Ingold 12. A Response to Tim Ingold: Evolution in the Minor Key 124 Karen Kilby 13.
  • Paleoindian Economic Organization in the Lower Great Lakes Region: Evaluating the Role of Caribou As a Critical Resource

    Paleoindian Economic Organization in the Lower Great Lakes Region: Evaluating the Role of Caribou As a Critical Resource

    PALEOINDIAN ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION IN THE LOWER GREAT LAKES REGION: EVALUATING THE ROLE OF CARIBOU AS A CRITICAL RESOURCE By Dillon H. Carr A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ANTHROPOLOGY 2012 ABSTRACT PALEOINDIAN ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION IN THE LOWER GREAT LAKES REGION: EVALUATING THE ROLE OF CARIBOU AS A CRITICAL RESOURCE By Dillon H. Carr There is a widespread perception that Rangifer tarandus (caribou) constitutes a critical resource for Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene hunter-gatherers inhabiting the lower Great Lakes region. However, this perception has not been formally tested using the regional archaeological record. To this end, this dissertation constitutes a formal test of the caribou hunting hypothesis utilizing archeological data from lower Great Lakes Paleoindian (ca. 11,500- 10,000 BP) sites. To formally test the hypothesis that caribou were the organizational focus of lower Great Lakes Paleoindian subsistence economies a heuristic model for a residentially mobile caribou hunting society is constructed from ethnographic and comparative archaeological data. Archaeological data from lower Great Lakes Paleoindians are compared against expected patterning derived from the residentially mobile caribou hunting model to evaluate the extent to which patterned variability in the Paleoindian archaeological record reflects an intensive caribou hunting society. This formal evaluation of the caribou hunting hypothesis indicates that certain aspects of the Paleoindian archaeological record support the idea that caribou were an important resource. In particular, there is some evidence to suggest that more standardized extractive implements and larger, multi-locus, Lake Algonquian coastal sites support an interpretation of intercept caribou hunting.
  • Introduction: Demography and Cultural Macroevolution James Steele University College London, J.Steele@Ucl.Ac.Uk

    Introduction: Demography and Cultural Macroevolution James Steele University College London, [email protected]

    Human Biology Volume 81 Issue 2 Special Issue on Demography and Cultural Article 1 Macroevolution 2009 Introduction: Demography and Cultural Macroevolution James Steele University College London, [email protected] Stephen Shennan University College London, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol Recommended Citation Steele, James and Shennan, Stephen (2009) "Introduction: Demography and Cultural Macroevolution," Human Biology: Vol. 81: Iss. 2-3, Article 1. Available at: http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol81/iss2/1 Introduction: Demography and Cultural Macroevolution Abstract The ap pers in this special issue of Human Biology, which derive from a conference sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Center for the Evolution of Cultural Diversity, lay some of the foundations for an empirical macroevolutionary analysis of cultural dynamics. Our premise here is that cultural dynamics—including the stability of traditions and the rate of origination of new variants—are infl uenced by independently occurring demographic processes (population size, structure, and distribution as these vary over time as a result of changes in rates of fertility, mortality, and migration). The onc tributors focus on three sets of problems relevant to empirical studies of cultural macroevolution: large-scale reconstruction of past population dynamics from archaeological and genetic data; juxtaposition of models and evidence of cultural dynamics using large-scale archaeological and historical data sets; and juxtaposition of models and evidence of cultural dynamics from large-scale linguistic data sets. In this introduction we outline some of the theoretical and methodological issues and briefl y umms arize the individual contributions.
  • Keeping Fire: the Cognitive Implications of Controlled Fire Use by Middle Pleistocene Humans

    Keeping Fire: the Cognitive Implications of Controlled Fire Use by Middle Pleistocene Humans

    Keeping Fire: The Cognitive Implications of Controlled Fire Use by Middle Pleistocene Humans Terrence Matthew Twomey Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree Doctor of Philosophy April 2011 School of Social and Political Sciences Faculty of Arts The University of Melbourne Supervisory Committee Dr Edward Douglas Lewis Dr Neil Thomason Prof Andrew Dawson Prof Antonio Sagona i Abstract The thesis investigates the cognitive implications of controlled fire use by Middle Pleistocene humans. My argument is that we can infer features of human cognition from the behaviours required to control fire. This argument is grounded in the following two premises. First, some behaviours imply the operation of distinctively human cognitive abilities. For example, inhibiting prepotent responses, delaying gratification and anticipatory planning provide good evidence for executive functions, such as episodic memory, an extended working memory capacity and detached representations. Similarly, future directed cooperation, resolving social dilemmas and providing a public good imply features of human social cognition, such as theory of mind, collective intentionality and intersubjective communication. Second, fire use involved a range of cognitively demanding behaviours associated with accessing, maintaining and using fire that I argue meet the above behavioural criteria for human cognitive abilities. The thesis aims to show why this is the case. My working hypothesis is that fire related tasks stand as a sound behavioural basis for making inferences about the cognitive abilities of fire using humans. The thesis is warranted because we now have compelling evidence that humans have been using fire for at least 800 thousand years. The cognitive abilities of humans from this early time are not well understood and in dispute.
  • Can Cognitive Mechanisms Explain Ecological Behaviour ?

    Can Cognitive Mechanisms Explain Ecological Behaviour ?

    Cognition in eco & cognition in vitro Can cognitive mechanisms explain ecological behaviour ? Avel Guenin{Carlut avelguenin.github.io May 12, 2021 Kairos Research kairos-research.org Behaviorism Behaviour is determined by law-like regularities in the association of stimuli and response, as can be observed in experimental settings (Post-)Cognitivism Behaviour derive from mental activity determined by the physical architecture which enable structured information processing What are cognitive sciences ? 1 (Post-)Cognitivism Behaviour derive from mental activity determined by the physical architecture which enable structured information processing What are cognitive sciences ? Behaviorism Behaviour is determined by law-like regularities in the association of stimuli and response, as can be observed in experimental settings 1 What are cognitive sciences ? Behaviorism Behaviour is determined by law-like regularities in the association of stimuli and response, as can be observed in experimental settings (Post-)Cognitivism Behaviour derive from mental activity determined by the physical architecture which enable structured information processing 1 What are cognitive sciences ? Behaviorism Behaviour is determined by law-like regularities in the association of stimuli and response, as can be observed in experimental settings (Post-)Cognitivism Behaviour derive from mental activity determined by the physical architecture which enable structured information processing 1 From computer analogy to cognitive mechanisms [61] Dynamical post-cognitivism