Tools, Language and Cognition in Human Evolution.

Tools, Language and Cognition in Human Evolution. Is it still possible to address the Big Questions in anthropology --for instance, how language and tool-use were related in human evolution-- scientifically? Or have we become compromised by the minutiae mi��nu��ti��a?n. pl. mi��nu��ti��aeA small or trivial detail: "the minutiae of experimental and mathematical procedure"Frederick Turner. ofdisciplinary specialization? In this very welcome book, the editorsassemble a multidisciplinary team of contributors to demonstrate thatthe Big Questions are still a vital part of our research agenda.Their papers review and assess current research in a number of fieldsrelevant to the evolution of human language, tool-use and cognition.This includes work on gesture, signing and vocalizations in humans,language-reared apes and primates generally; on non-human primatetool-use; on comparative neuro-anatomy; on comparative cognitivedevelopment; and on the Palaeolithic archaeology of hominid hominidAny member of the zoological family Hominidae (order Primates), which consists of the great apes (orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos) as well as human beings. tool-usingand symbolic behaviour. The editors' stated aim was to pave a waytowards a new generation of conceptual models of hominid behaviour andits evolution in specific ecological contexts. At the very least, theyhave succeeded in taking to its limits the case for an analogy betweenlanguage production and tool use (in terms of underlying brainmechanisms), and for a fundamental continuity between human abilitiesand those of non-human primates.In the background of this integrative effort is a competing paradigmin cognitive psychology cognitive psychology,school of psychology that examines internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, and language. It had its foundations in the Gestalt psychology of Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka, and in the work of Jean , which holds that particular human abilitieshave evolved independently as 'modules' which adapt us toperform efficiently in specific domains of skill. For example, there isthe postulate postulate:see axiom. of a 'Language Acquisition Device', or of a'Social Contract Acquisition Device'. It is hard to reconcilethis modularity approach with the pattern of human brain evolution,which seems to involve fairly global changes in gross aspects of brainorganization and of neural computational resources. Here, Gibson andother contributors also take the battle to their competitors'chosen ground, arguing that the behavioural evidence supports adomain-general model of human cognitive abilities. I was particularlyimpressed by chapters on the semantics and syntax of non-verbal gesture(Kendon, Goldin-Meadow, Kempler), on work with language-rearedchimpanzees (Savage-Rumbaugh & Rumbaugh) and on the development ofcombinatorial object-manipulation in human children (Lock). However, theissue is not yet resolved: Wynn, in particular, argues against a closeanalogy between tool use (which he thinks draws on domain-generalcognition) and language (which he thinks requires domain-specificabilities). I regretted the absence of references to Terry Deacon'selegant work on human brain evolution (Deacon 1988a; 1988b), which wouldhave been relevant here.What are the implications for Palaeolithic archaeology? This book isnot designed to supply off-the-shelf models to Palaeolithicarchaeologists: it is up to us to develop our own interpretativeparadigms in dialogue with other behavioural scientists, Issues inprimate tool use are well covered by Visalberghi, McGrew and Boesch.These scientists are clearly eager to hear what we have to say about thearchaeology of human behavioural and cognitive evolution, and to promptus if they sense a paradigm is lacking (McGrew). However, overall thearchaeological contributions to this book are weakly integrated.Acheulian hand-axes are interpreted variously as aerodynamicallyefficient projectiles for waterhole waterholeNouna pond or pool in a desert or other dry area, used by animals as a drinking place predation predationForm of food getting in which one animal, the predator, eats an animal of another species, the prey, immediately after killing it or, in some cases, while it is still alive. Most predators are generalists; they eat a variety of prey species. (Calvin); as anon-verbalized tradition reproduced by default in Homo erectus groupsfor as long as the raw materials were available for the tradition to behanded down (Toth & Schick); as core tools curated for their use assources of flakes (Davidson & Noble); or as indexical in��dex��i��cal?adj.1. Of or having the function of an index.2. Linguistics Deictic.n.A deictic word or element.Adj. 1. indexical - of or relating to or serving as an index symbols ofsome community standard relating to the original tool and its context ofuse (Wynn). For archaeologists, this book is likely to serve best as astimulus to future development of a more coherent behavioural paradigm.Among possible future research directions, most promising are thosewhich raise the issues of hominid social organization and culturaltransmission. It is no use having the capacity for language if youcannot share new information, and little use having the ability to makenovel and complex tools if you cannot transmit what you have learned toothers. The primate evidence raises the issue of imitation and teachingas modes of transmission. Ingold notes the importance of trust in thesocial and ecological relationships of modern hunter-gatherers. Wynntalks of community standards and the semiotics of tools; Reynoldstheorizes a relationship between complementarity of roles in a taskgroup and the combination of elements into a composite tool. Toth &Schick discuss the need for models of hominid foraging and range-usepatterns. However, none of this amounts to the systematic replacement ofthe Home Base model which Palaeolithic archaeology urgently needs.So the issues are clarified, but the conceptual models of hominidbehavioural evolution remain to be built. This is a welcomecollaboration, a very useful primer which amply covers many of thetopics which archaeologists need to be familiar with if they are to getup to speed in researching human evolution. It is recommended to anyoneinterested in the Big Questions in anthropology. Best of all, it sets aprecedent for bringing archaeologists into constructive dialogue withother behavioural scientists.JAMES STEELE Department of Archaeology University of Southampton In the most recent RAE assessment (2001), it has the only engineering faculty in the country to receive the highest rating (5*) across all disciplines.[3] According to The Times Higher Education Supplement ReferencesDEACON, T.W. 1988a. Human brain evolution I: evolution of languagecircuits, in Jerison & Jerison (ed.): 363-81.1988b. Human brain evolution II: embryology embryologyStudy of the formation and development of an embryo and fetus. Before widespread use of the microscope and the advent of cellular biology in the 19th century, embryology was based on descriptive and comparative studies. and brain allometry al��lom��e��tryn.The study of the change in proportion of various parts of an organism as a consequence of growth.allometrymeasurement of the changes in shape of an animal relative to increases in its size. , inJerison & Jerison (ed.): 383-415.JERISON, H.J. & I. JERISON (ed.). 1988. Intelligence andevolutionary biology. Berlin: Springer.