| Description |
1 online resource |
| Series |
Vertebrate paleobiology and paleoanthropology series |
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Vertebrate paleobiology and paleoanthropology.
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| Contents |
Intro -- Preface -- Contents -- Contributors -- 1 Into the Tangled Web of Culture-History and Convergent Evolution -- Background and Context -- Archaeology on the Rocks -- Context and Chronology -- Converging -- Population Thinking -- Diversification -- The Chapters -- Conclusion -- References -- 2 The Unity of Acheulean Culture -- Abstract -- Introduction -- An Anecdotal Experiment of Biface Transmission -- Acheulean Biface Elongation -- The First Appearance of the Acheulean -- The Movius Line -- Conclusion -- Acknowledgments -- References |
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3 Problems and Pitfalls in Understanding the Clactonian -- Abstract -- Introduction -- The Clactonian World and Its Sites -- What Exactly is the Clactonian? -- How should we interpret the Clactonian? -- References -- 4 Culture and Convergence: The Curious Case of the Nubian Complex -- Abstract -- Introduction -- History of the Nubian Complex -- The Nubian Complex in Northeast Africa -- Nubian Levallois Technology Elsewhere in Africa -- The Nubian Complex in Arabia -- Nubian Levallois Technology in the Levant -- Nubian Levallois Technology in India -- Nubian Levallois Technology -- Conclusion |
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Acknowledgements -- References -- 5 Lithic Variability and Cultures in the East African Middle Stone Age -- Abstract -- Introduction -- Lithics and Paleolithic Cultures -- Mechanisms of Culture Change -- Cultural Transmission Theory -- Culture as a Biological Adaptation -- Lithics and Cultures in East Africa -- Origin of Levallois Technology -- Origin of Blade and Bladelet Technology -- Raw Materials Transfer and Territories -- Towards an Understanding of MSA Human Groups -- Acknowledgments -- References |
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6 A Matter of Space and Time: How Frequent Is Convergence in Lithic Technology in the African Archaeological Record over the Last 300 kyr? -- Abstract -- Introduction -- The Phenomenon of Convergence: Definition, Delimitation and Archaeological Expectations -- What Is at Stake? Tracing and Identifying Past Populations with Stone Tools -- Approach and Method -- Space and Time: Convergence in the African MSA and LSA -- The Small Scale: Site Sequences in South Africa -- The Regional Scale: Folding Space into Time in Southernmost Africa -- The Large Scale: The African Continent |
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How Frequent is Convergence? A Matter of Space, Time and Resolution -- Implications for Identifying Human Populations and Dispersals -- Acknowledgements -- References -- 7 Technology and Function of Middle Stone Age Points. Insights from a Combined Approach at Bushman Rock Shelter, South Africa -- Abstract -- General Overview of Middle Stone Age Point Production in Sub-Saharan Africa -- Middle Stone Age Point Functions -- Tool Use -- Hafting Adhesives -- Bushman Rock Shelter MIS 5 Middle Stone Age Points -- Insights from the Technological Approach -- Insights from the Use-Wear Approach |
| Summary |
This volume brings together diverse contributions from leading archaeologists and paleoanthropologists, covering various spatial and temporal periods to distinguish convergent evolution from cultural transmission in order to see if we can discover ancient human populations. With a focus on lithic technology, the book analyzes ancient materials and cultures to systematically explore the theoretical and physical aspects of culture, convergence, and populations in human evolution and prehistory. The book will be of interest to academics, students and researchers in archaeology, paleoanthropology, genetics, and paleontology. The book begins by addressing early prehistory, discussing the convergent evolution of behaviors and the diverse ecological conditions driving the success of different evolutionary paths. Chapters discuss these topics and technology in the context of the Lower Paleolithic/Earlier Stone age and Middle Paleolithic/Middle Stone Age. The book then moves towards a focus on the prehistory of our species over the last 40,000 years. Topics covered include the human evolutionary and dispersal consequences of the Middle-Upper Paleolithic Transition in Western Eurasia. Readers will also learn about the cultural convergences, and divergences, that occurred during the Terminal Pleistocene and Holocene, such as the budding of human societies in the Americas. The book concludes by integrating these various perspectives and theories, and explores different methods of analysis to link technological developments and cultural convergence |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on August 13, 2020) |
| Subject |
Human evolution.
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Social evolution.
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Culture -- Origin.
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Culture -- Origin
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Human evolution
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Social evolution
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| Author |
Groucutt, Huw Sheridan, 1986-
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| ISBN |
9783030461263 |
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3030461262 |
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