Introduction to Evolutionary Cognitive Archaeology

<p><em>An Introduction to Evolutionary Cognitive Archaeology</em> is the first concise introduction that lays out the epistemological foundations of evolutionary cognitive archaeology in a way that is accessible to students. </p><p>The volume is divided into three sections. The first section situates cognitive archaeology in the pantheon of archaeological approaches and distinguishes between ideational cognitive archaeology and evolutionary cognitive archaeology. This is followed by a close look at the nature of cognitive archaeological inferences and concludes with brief summaries of the major methods of evolutionary cognitive archaeology. The second section of the book introduces the reader to a variety of cognitive phenomena that are accessible using the methods of cognitive archaeology: memory, technical cognition, spatial cognition, social cognition, art and aesthetics, and symbolism and language. The third section presents a brief outline of hominin cognitive evolution from the perspective of evolutionary cognitive archaeology. The authors divide the archaeological record into three major phases: The Bipedal Apes—3.3 million-1.7 million years ago; The Axe Age—1.7 million-300,000 years ago; and The Emergence of Modern Thinking—300,000–12,000 years ago.</p><p>An Introduction to Evolutionary Cognitive Archaeology is an essential text for undergraduate students, graduate students, and scholars across the behavioral and social sciences interested in learning about cognitive archaeology, including psychologists, philosophers, anthropologists, and archaeologists. </p> <p><strong>SECTION I: METHOD AND THEORY</strong> 1. Introduction 2. Evolutionary Cognitive Archaeology 3. Two Cognitive Archaeologies 4. Reasoning About Prehistoric Minds 5. Methods of Evolutionary Cognitive Archaeology; <b>SECTION II: CORE ISSUES IN EVOLUTIONARY COGNITIVE ARCHAEOLOGY </b>6. Memory 7. Technical Cognition 8. Spatial Cognition 9. Social Cognition 10. Art and Aesthetics 11. Symbolism and Language; <b>SECTION III: BRIEF OUTLINE OF HOMININ COGNITIVE EVOLUTION </b>12. Phase 1: The Bipedal Apes 3.3 – 1.7 Million 13. Phase 2: The Axe Age 1.7 Million – 300,000 14. Phase 3: The Emergence of Modern Thinking – 300,000 – 12,000 Conclusion </p>