Behavioral modernity
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Paleolithic |
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↑ before Homo (Pliocene) |
Lower Paleolithic (c. 2.6 Ma - 100,000 ka) (genus Homo)
Middle Paleolithic (300,000 - 30,000 ka) (Neanderthal, H. sapiens) earliest evidence of behavioral modernity (art and intentional burials) earliest undisputed evidence of cooking food migration beyond Africa).
Upper Paleolithic(50,000 - 10,000 ka) (behavioral modernity: abundant artwork, fully developed language)
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↓ Mesolithic |
Behavioural modernity is a term used in anthropology, archeology and sociology to refer to a list of traits that distinguish present day humans and their recent ancestors from both living primates and other extinct hominid lineages. It is the point at which Homo sapiens began to demonstrate a reliance on abstract thought and to express cultural creativity. These developments are often thought to be associated with the origin of language[citation needed].
There are two main theories regarding when modern human behavior emerged.[1] One theory holds that behavioral modernity occurred as a sudden event some 50kya, possibly as a result of a major genetic mutation or as a result of a biological reorganization of the brain.[2] Proponents of this theory refer to this event as the Great Leap Forward[3] or the Upper Paleolithic Revolution.
The second theory holds that there was never any single technological or cognitive revolution. Proponents of this view argue that modern human behavior is basically the result of the gradual accumulation of knowledge, skills and culture occurring over hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution.[4]. Proponents of this view include Stephen Oppenheimer in his Out of Eden.
Contents |
[edit] Definition
Modern human behavior is observed in Cultural universals which are the key elements shared by all groups of people throughout the history of man. Examples of elements that may be considered cultural universals are language, religion, art, music, the incest taboo, myth, cooking, games, and jokes. While some of these traits distinguish Homo sapiens from other species in their degree of articulation in language based culture, they all have analogues in animal ethology. Since cultural universals are found in all cultures including some of the most isolated indigenous groups, scientists believe that these traits must have evolved or have been invented in Africa prior to the exodus.[5][6][7][8]
Classic evidence of behavioral modernity includes:
- finely made tools,
- fishing,
- evidence of long-distance exchange or barter among groups,
- systematic use of pigment (such as ochre) and jewellery for decoration or self-ornamentation,
- figurative art (cave paintings, petroglyphs, figurines)
- game playing and music
- burial
A more terse definition of the evidence is the behavioral B's: blades, beads, burials, bone toolmaking, and beautiful.[9]
It might be thought that behavioral modernity preceded language but the complex behaviors from the list above suggest language was necessary and that they must have been at least contemporary developments.
[edit] Timing
Whether modern behavior emerged as a single event or gradually is the subject of vigorous debate.
[edit] Great leap forward
- See also: Upper Paleolithic
Advocates of this theory argue that the great leap forward occurred sometime 50-40kya in Africa or Europe. They argue that humans who lived before 50kya were behaviorally primitive and indistinguishable from other extinct hominids such as the Neanderthals or homo erectus. Proponents of this view base their evidence on the abundance of complex artifacts, such as artwork and bone tools of the Upper Paleolithic, that appear in the fossil record after 50kya. They argue that such artifacts are all but absent from the fossil record from before 50kya, indicating that earlier hominids lacked the cognitive skills required to produce such artifacts.
Jared Diamond states that humans of the Acheulean and Mousterian cultures lived in an apparent stasis, experiencing little cultural change. This was followed by a sudden flowering of fine toolmaking, sophisticated weaponry, sculpture, cave painting, body ornaments, and long-distance trade.[10] Humans also expanded into hitherto uninhabited environments, such as Australia and Northern Eurasia.[10]
The Great Leap Forward was concurrent with the extinction of the Neanderthals, and it has been suggested that Cro-Magnon interaction with Neanderthals caused this extinction.
According to this model, the emergence of anatomically modern humans predates the emergence of behaviorally modern humans by over 100kya.
[edit] Continuity hypothesis
Proponents of continuity hypothesis hold that no single genetic or biological change is responsible for the appearance of modern behavior. They contend that modern human behavior is the result of sociocultural and or sociobiological evolution occurring over hundreds of thousands of years.
Continuity theorists base their assertions on evidence of modern behavior that can be seen in the Middle Stone Age (approximately 250-50kya) at a number of sites in Africa and the Levant. For example, a ritual burial with grave goods at Qafzeh is Middle Stone Age(MSA) having been dated to 90kya. The use of pigment is noted at several MSA sites in Africa dating back more than 100kya.
Continuity theorists believe that what appears to be a technological revolution at the onset of the Upper Paleolithic is most likely a result of increased cultural exchange resulting from a growing human population. Some continuity theorists also argue that the rapid pace of cultural evolution during the Upper Paleolithic transition may have been triggered by adverse environmental conditions such as aridity arising from glacial maxima.[11] They further dispute that anatomical modernity predates behavioral modernity, stating that changes in human anatomy and behavioral changes occurred stepwise.[4]
[edit] See also
- Hominid intelligence
- Blombos cave
- Richard Klein
- Origin of language
- Evolutionary origin of religion
- Origin of religion
- Origin of music
- Recent single origin hypothesis
- Archaic Homo sapiens
- Sociocultural evolution
[edit] References
- ^ Mayell, Hillary (2003). "When Did "Modern" Behavior Emerge in Humans?".
- ^ Ehrlich, Paul R. (2002). Human Natures: Genes, Cultures, and the Human Prospect. Island Press, 159-160. ISBN 978-1-559-63779-4.
- ^ Diamond, Jared (1999). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. W. W. Norton, 39. ISBN 978-0-393-31755-8.
- ^ a b Mcbrearty (2000). "The revolution that wasn’t: a new interpretation of the origin of modern human behavior" (PDF).
- ^ leap to language
- ^ Buller, David (2005). Adapting Minds: Evolutionary Psychology and the Persistent Quest for Human Nature. PMIT Press, 468. ISBN 0262025795.
- ^ 80,000-year-old Beads Shed Light on Early Culture
- ^ three distinct human populations
- ^ William H. Calvin, A Brief History of the Mind (Oxford University Press 2004), chapter 9
- ^ a b Diamond, Jared (1992). The Third Chimpanzee. Harper Perennial, 47-57. ISBN 978-0-060-98403-8.
- ^ Mellars, Paul (2006). "Why did modern human populations disperse from Africa ca. 60,000 years ago?". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103: 9381. doi: . PMID 16772383.
[edit] External links
- Steven Mithen (1999), The Prehistory of the Mind: The Cognitive Origins of Art, Religion and Science, Thames & Hudson, ISBN 978-0500281000.
- Archeology and the Evolution of Human Behavior
- Artifacts in Africa Suggest An Earlier Modern Human
- Tools point to African origin for human behaviour
- Key Human Traits Tied to Shellfish Remains, nytimes 2007/10/18
- "Python Cave" Reveals Oldest Human Ritual, Scientists Suggest