Dynamics of Learning in Neanderthals and Modern Humans Volume 1

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

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2. Introduction

   • Yoshihiro Nishiaki, Kenichi Aoki, Takeru Akazawa

   Pages 1-3

3. Archaeology of Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 5-5

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   2. Neanderthals and Modern Humans Across Eurasia

      • Ofer Bar-Yosef

      Pages 7-20

   3. Neandertal-Modern Human Contact in Western Eurasia: Issues of Dating, Taxonomy, and Cultural Associations

      • João Zilhão

      Pages 21-57

   4. Issues of Chronological and Geographical Distributions of Middle and Upper Palaeolithic Cultural Variability in the Levant and Implications for the Learning Behavior of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens

      • Seiji Kadowaki

      Pages 59-91

   5. The Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition in Siberia: Three Regional Sketches for Replacement

      • Hirofumi Kato

      Pages 93-103

   6. Cultural Transmission, Institutional Continuity and the Persistence of the Mousterian

      • Steven L. Kuhn

      Pages 105-113

   7. Cultural and Biological Transformations in the Middle Pleistocene Levant: A View from Qesem Cave, Israel

      • Ran Barkai, Avi Gopher

      Pages 115-137

4. Learning Behaviors in Prehistoric and Modern Hunter-Gatherers

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 139-139

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   2. The Evolutionary Development of Learning and Teaching Strategies in Human Societies

      • Hideaki Terashima

      Pages 141-150

   3. Using Lithic Refitting to Investigate the Skill Learning Process: Lessons from Upper Paleolithic Assemblages at the Shirataki Sites in Hokkaido, Northern Japan

      • Jun Takakura

      Pages 151-171

   4. “Gifting” As a Means of Cultural Transmission: The Archaeological Implications of Bow-and-Arrow Technology in Papua New Guinea

      • Yoshihiro Nishiaki

      Pages 173-185

   5. “Ekeloko” The Spirit to Create: Innovation and Social Learning Among Aka Adolescents of the Central African Rainforest

      • Bonnie Hewlett

      Pages 187-195

5. Human-Specific Learning Strategies and Cultural Evolution

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 197-197

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   2. Determinants of Cultural Evolutionary Rates

      • Kenichi Aoki

      Pages 199-210

   3. Exploring Cultural Niche Construction from the Paleolithic to Modern Hunter-Gatherers

      • Nicole Creanza, Laurel Fogarty, Marcus W. Feldman

      Pages 211-228

   4. The Effects of Cross-Boundary Rituals on Cultural Innovation

      • Shiro Horiuchi, Sachiko Kubota

      Pages 229-236

   5. A Simulation Study on the Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans in Europe: Implications of Climate Change, Cultural Diversification, and the Shape of the Continent

      • Yutaka Kobayashi

      Pages 237-243

   6. Cultural Evolution and Learning Strategies in Hominids

      • Wataru Nakahashi

      Pages 245-254

This volume presents the first of two proceedings from the International Conference on the Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans, which took place in Tokyo in November 2012. Focussing on a highly innovative working hypothesis called the ‘learning hypothesis’, which attempts to explain the replacement as a result of differences in the learning abilities of these two hominid populations, the conference served as the latest multidisciplinary discussion forum on this intriguing Palaeoanthropological issue. The present volume reports on outcomes of the conference in three major sections. Part 1 provides an archaeological overview of the processes of replacement/assimilation of Neanderthals by modern humans. Part 2 consists of archaeological and ethnographic case studies exploring evidence of learning behaviours in prehistoric and modern hunter-gatherer societies. Part 3 presents a collection of papers that directly contributes to the definition, validation and testing of the learninghypothesis in terms of population biology and evolutionary theory. A total of 18 papers in this volume make available to readers unique cultural perspectives on mechanisms of the replacement/assimilation of Neanderthals by modern humans and suggested relationships between these mechanisms and different learning strategies.

• Cultural Evolution
• Evolutionary Change Learning
• Humans Neanderthals Comparison
• Learning Strategies
• Middle and Upper Palaeolithic
• Modern Humans
• Neanderthal Archaeology
• Neanderthals

• Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kami-shi, Japan

  Takeru Akazawa

• Tokyo, Japan

  Yoshihiro Nishiaki, Kenichi Aoki

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