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The evolution of early symbolic behavior in Homo sapiens

Tylén, Kristian ; Fusaroli, Riccardo ; Rojo, Sergio LU orcid ; Heimann, Katrin ; Fay, Nicolas ; Nørkjær Johannsen, Niels ; Riede, Felix and Lombard, Marlize (2020) In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 117(9). p.4578-4584
Abstract
How did human symbolic behavior evolve? Dating up to about 100,000 y ago, the engraved ochre and ostrich eggshell fragments from the South African Blombos Cave and Diepkloof Rock Shelter provide a unique window into presumed early symbolic traditions of Homo sapiens and how they evolved over a period of more than 30,000 y. Using the engravings as stimuli, we report five experiments which suggest that the engravings evolved adaptively, becoming better-suited for human perception and cognition. More specifically, they became more salient, memorable, reproducible, and expressive of style and human intent. However, they did not become more discriminable over time between or within the two archeological sites. Our observations provide support... (More)
How did human symbolic behavior evolve? Dating up to about 100,000 y ago, the engraved ochre and ostrich eggshell fragments from the South African Blombos Cave and Diepkloof Rock Shelter provide a unique window into presumed early symbolic traditions of Homo sapiens and how they evolved over a period of more than 30,000 y. Using the engravings as stimuli, we report five experiments which suggest that the engravings evolved adaptively, becoming better-suited for human perception and cognition. More specifically, they became more salient, memorable, reproducible, and expressive of style and human intent. However, they did not become more discriminable over time between or within the two archeological sites. Our observations provide support for an account of the Blombos and Diepkloof engravings as decorations and as socially transmitted cultural traditions. By contrast, there was no clear indication that they served as denotational symbolic signs. Our findings have broad implications for our understanding of early symbolic communication and cognition in H. sapiens. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
symbolic behavior, human cognition, evolution, archeology
in
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
volume
117
issue
9
pages
4578 - 4584
publisher
National Academy of Sciences
external identifiers
  • scopus:85081052354
  • pmid:32071236
ISSN
0027-8424
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1910880117
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
4ab6f68d-0d81-4699-9846-db0d8dc88c49
date added to LUP
2020-03-13 15:53:18
date last changed
2022-04-18 21:03:14
@article{4ab6f68d-0d81-4699-9846-db0d8dc88c49,
  abstract     = {{How did human symbolic behavior evolve? Dating up to about 100,000 y ago, the engraved ochre and ostrich eggshell fragments from the South African Blombos Cave and Diepkloof Rock Shelter provide a unique window into presumed early symbolic traditions of Homo sapiens and how they evolved over a period of more than 30,000 y. Using the engravings as stimuli, we report five experiments which suggest that the engravings evolved adaptively, becoming better-suited for human perception and cognition. More specifically, they became more salient, memorable, reproducible, and expressive of style and human intent. However, they did not become more discriminable over time between or within the two archeological sites. Our observations provide support for an account of the Blombos and Diepkloof engravings as decorations and as socially transmitted cultural traditions. By contrast, there was no clear indication that they served as denotational symbolic signs. Our findings have broad implications for our understanding of early symbolic communication and cognition in H. sapiens.}},
  author       = {{Tylén, Kristian and Fusaroli, Riccardo and Rojo, Sergio and Heimann, Katrin and Fay, Nicolas and Nørkjær Johannsen, Niels and Riede, Felix and Lombard, Marlize}},
  issn         = {{0027-8424}},
  keywords     = {{symbolic behavior; human cognition; evolution; archeology}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{9}},
  pages        = {{4578--4584}},
  publisher    = {{National Academy of Sciences}},
  series       = {{Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America}},
  title        = {{The evolution of early symbolic behavior in Homo sapiens}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1910880117}},
  doi          = {{10.1073/pnas.1910880117}},
  volume       = {{117}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}