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Learning Among Neanderthals and Palaeolithic Modern Humans

Archaeological Evidence

  • Book
  • © 2019

Overview

Editors:
  1. Yoshihiro Nishiaki

    1. The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

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  2. Olaf Jöris

    1. MONREPOS Archaeological Research Center and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, Schloss Monrepos, Neuwied, Germany

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    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Highlights learning strategies to understand the replacement processes of Neanderthals by modern humans
  • Presents the latest overview of archaeological records on learning behaviours among Neanderthals and modern humans
  • Provides methodological contributions to explore prehistoric learning strategies with archaeological records

Part of the book series: Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans Series (RNMH)

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Table of contents (14 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
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  2. Learning Behaviors Among Neanderthals and Palaeolithic Modern Humans: An Introduction

    • Yoshihiro Nishiaki, Olaf Jöris
    Pages 1-6

  3. Cognitive Backgrounds for Learning

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 7-7
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    2. Neural Underpinnings of Creative Thinking and Tool Use: A Meta-Analysis of Neuroimaging Data

      • Naoki Miura, Yukako Sasaki, Kunihiro Hasegawa, Hiroki C. Tanabe
      Pages 9-21

    3. The Expert Performance Model of Neandertal Cognition

      • Thomas Wynn, Frederick L. Coolidge
      Pages 23-34

    4. Cognitive Capacities of the Neanderthals

      • Marcel Otte
      Pages 35-55

  4. Processes of Palaeolithic Learning

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 57-57
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    2. Mastering Hammer Use in Stone Knapping: An Experiment

      • Yoshihiro Nishiaki
      Pages 59-76

    3. Evidence for Neanderthal Hand Preferences from the Late Middle Palaeolithic Site of Buhlen, Germany: Insights into Neanderthal Learning Behaviour

      • Olaf Jöris, Natalie Uomini
      Pages 77-94

    4. Good and Bad Knappers Among Neanderthals

      • Javier Baena, Irene Ortiz, Concepción Torres
      Pages 95-117

    5. The Apprentice Core: Evidence from a Lithic Refitting at the Upper Palaeolithic Site Kyushirataki-5 in Hokkaido, Northern Japan

      • Jun Takakura, Yasuo Naoe
      Pages 119-127

    6. Learning Behavior of Sanukite Knapping Among the Upper Palaeolithic Communities of Suichoen, Japan

      • Shoji Takahashi, Yoshihiro Nishiaki
      Pages 129-147

    7. Strong Differences Between Neanderthals and AMHs Cannot Be Inferred from Ethnographic Evidence for Skill and Learning in Hunting

      • Katharine MacDonald
      Pages 149-158

  6. Back Matter

    Pages 213-218
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Keywords

About this book

This book is based on the research performed for the Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans Project. The central issue of the project is the investigation of possible differences between the two populations in cognitive ability for learning. The project aims to evaluate a unique working hypothesis, coined as the learning hypothesis, which postulates that differences in learning eventually resulted in the replacement of those populations. 
The book deals with relevant archaeological records to understand the learning behaviours of Neanderthals and modern humans. Learning behaviours are conditioned by numerous factors including not only cognitive ability but also cultural traditions, social structure, population size, and life history. The book addresses the issues in two parts, comparing learning behaviours in terms of cognitive ability and social environments, respectively. Collectively, it provides new insights into the behavioural characteristics of Neanderthals and modern humans from a previously overlooked perspective. Furthermore, it highlights the significance of understanding learning in prehistory, the driving force for any development of culture and technology among human society.


Editors and Affiliations

  • The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Yoshihiro Nishiaki

  • MONREPOS Archaeological Research Center and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, Schloss Monrepos, Neuwied, Germany

    Olaf Jöris

About the editors

Yoshihiro Nishiaki, who received his Ph.D. from University College London, is a professor of prehistory at the University Museum, The University of Tokyo. His research involves the archaeology of West and Central Asia mainly through technological analyses of flaked stone artifacts. He has directed numerous field investigations in West and Central Asia since 1984, including Paleolithic and Neolithic excavations in Syria, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Uzbekistan. He is currently the director of PaleoAsia, a large-scale research project investigating the formation processes of modern human cultures in Asia, supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan. He has served on the editorial board or scientific committee of a number of international associations, such as the International Union for Quaternary Research, the International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences, and Association Paléorient.

Olaf Jöris received his Ph.D. from the University of Cologne, Germany. He is senior scientist at and deputy head of the MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution in Neuwied, Germany – a department of the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz, Leibniz Research Institute for Archaeology. His research focuses on the archaeological evidence for understanding the evolution of human behaviour from a diachronic perspective. He has directed fieldwork in Germany, Georgia, and China. He has been involved in numerous inter- and transdisciplinary projects, regularly serves as reviewer or editor in international journals, and is member of several international research organizations. He teaches prehistoric archaeology at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, and, since 2014, has been a visiting professor at Lanzhou University, Gansu Province, China.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Learning Among Neanderthals and Palaeolithic Modern Humans

  • Book Subtitle: Archaeological Evidence

  • Editors: Yoshihiro Nishiaki, Olaf Jöris

  • Series Title: Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans Series

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8980-1

  • Publisher: Springer Singapore

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-13-8979-5Published: 11 December 2019

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-981-13-8982-5Published: 10 January 2021

  • eBook ISBN: 978-981-13-8980-1Published: 27 November 2019

  • Series ISSN: 2365-063X

  • Series E-ISSN: 2365-0648

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: X, 218

  • Number of Illustrations: 45 b/w illustrations, 82 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Anthropology, Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology

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