New JAR articles

[Mikey Brass]

Journal of Anthropological Research.
Volume 60, Number 1




CROSSING DESERTS AND AVOIDING SEAS: ATERIAN NORTH AFRICAN-EUROPEAN RELATIONS


Elena A.A. Garcea
Laboratorio di Archeologia, Università di Cassino, 03043 Cassino, Italy


This article presents and discusses the most recent data on the Aterian in Africa and correlates them with the archaeological evidence from southwestern Europe. It provides an Africanist’s interpretation of the cultural development of the Aterian in North Africa and considers one of the Aterian’s putative passageways to Europe argued by the Out-of-Africa dispersal model­the Strait of Gibraltar. Several scenarios for Aterian interaction with southwestern Europe are discussed. The first three review the possibility of Aterian migration and/or diffusion to southwestern Europe and supposed relations with Solutrean, Aurignacian, and Mousterian populations. The fourth, and most likely, scenario considers convergence between North Africa and southwestern Europe populations and examines the most recent technological, anthropological, organizational, and environmental evidence for this idea.




A COGNITIVE AND NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE CHÂTELPERRONIAN


Frederick L. Coolidge and Thomas Wynn
Psychology Department, P.O. Box 7150, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO 80933-7150


Châtelperronian is the term used for a distinctive archaeological assemblage found in areas of southwestern France and northern Spain. Neandertals appear to have been responsible for the artifacts, but some of the artifact types represent a significant change from those used in the previous 200,000 years of Neandertal culture. Two alternative interpretations have been proposed for this change­one emphasizing independent development and the other emphasizing imitation of modern humans. We propose a slightly different scenario in which Neandertals created the artifacts through a form of observational learning known as emulation. This form of learning fits an account of Neandertal thinking that is derived from cognitive models of working memory and long-term working memory and is enriched by examples from neuropsychology.



THE KENNEWICK FOLLIES: “NEW” THEORIES ABOUT THE PEOPLING OF THE AMERICAS


Stuart J. Fiedel
Louis Berger Group, 2300 N St. NW, Washington, DC, 20037


Recent archaeological finds and anthropological analyses of crania and molecular data have been widely construed as requiring radical revision of conventional views of Native American origins. However, ostensibly fresh ideas about multiple early migrations to the New World only reprise outmoded racialist speculations. The “Clovis-first” model, which entails rapid colonization from Beringia beginning ca. 13,500 cal BP, remains the most cogent interpretation of the archaeological and skeletal record. This model also is congruent with molecular genetic data that indicate a single Amerind migration and point clearly to southern middle Siberia as the ancestral homeland.

[trehinp]

Journal of Anthropological Research.
Volume 60, Number 1

A COGNITIVE AND NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE CHÂTELPERRONIAN

We propose a slightly different scenario in which Neandertals created the artifacts through a form of observational learning known as emulation. This form of learning fits an account of Neandertal thinking that is derived from cognitive models of working memory and long-term working memory and is enriched by examples from neuropsychology.

Thanks Mikey,

This view is pretty much in line with Dominique Baffier's analysis in "Les derniers Neandertaliens, Le Chatelperronien" (The last Neanderthalians, the Chatelperronin), published in 1999 by the French publisher "La maison des roches".

This is the type of freedom of imitation from the base model "observational learning" that I alluded to in my post on the same discussion: Evolution of imitations capabilities.  

In the precise case of Chatelperronian, could it be that some of the techniques may even have been adopted by Modern Humans (contrary to the usual analysis). After all exchange of knowhow doesn't always work in the sense of a so called "inferior" culture receiving input from a so called "superior" culture. Anthropology is full of reverse know-how transmission.

It would be interesting to see if any of the "documents" left by our HSS ancestors and their Neanderthalian cousins could substantiate this idea...

Any one knowing about such discoveries ?

Paul Trehin

[lagarvelho]

Paul and all:

When you consider some of the things people of European descent have adopted from native Americans and put to use  in various contexts(for example, maize, tomatoes, potatoes, among other things), the idea that "modern" humans may have observed Neandertals doing things that "worked" and tried them in their own context, should hardly be surprising.  This "exchange" could well have been both ways in some sense.  This would mean though, that there was at least p eriodic contact between the two groups, and I know there are people "out there" that don't consider this very likely.
Anne G