Research Catalog

Title

The smart Neanderthal : bird catching, cave art & the cognitive revolution / Clive Finlayson.

Author

Finlayson, Clive, 1955-

Publication

• Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2019.
• ©2019

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xi, 228 pages, 4 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color); 23 cm

Summary

Since the late 1980s the dominant theory of human origins has been that a 'cognitive revolution' (C.50,000 years ago) led to the advent of our species, Homo sapiens. As a result of this revolution our species spread and eventually replaced all existing archaic Homo species, ultimately leading to the superiority of modern humans.Or so we thought.As Clive Finlayson explains, the latest advances in genetics prove that there was significant interbreeding between Modern Humans and the Neanderthals. All non-Africans today carry some Neanderthal genes. We have also discovered aspects of Neanderthal behaviour that indicate that they were not cognitively inferior to modern humans, as we once thought, and in fact had their own rituals and art. Finlayson, who is at the forefront of this research, recounts the discoveries of his team, providing evidence that Neanderthals caught birds of prey, and used their feathers for symbolic purposes. There is also evidence that Neanderthals practised other forms of art, as the recently discovered engravings in Gorham's Cave Gibraltar indicate.Linking all the recent evidence, The Smart Neanderthal casts a new light on the Neanderthals and the "Cognitive Revolution". Finlayson argues that there was no revolution and, instead, modern behaviour arose gradually and independently among different populations of Modern Humans and Neanderthals. Some practices were even adopted by Modern Humans from the Neanderthals. Finlayson overturns classic narratives of human origins, and raises important questions about who we really are.

Alternative Title

• Bird catching, cave art & the cognitive revolution
• Bird catching, cave art and the cognitive revolution

Subjects

• Bird remains (Archaeology)
• Behavior evolution
• Birds > Social aspects > History
• Neanderthals
• SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / General
• Human evolution
• Cognition and culture

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-221) and index.

Contents

Nana and flint -- Neanderthals and birds -- Lessons from the Arctic -- The long-tailed duck -- The white ghost -- Gibraltar -- The dynamic world of dunes -- Lakes and plains -- The great auk -- Big eyes -- Digging in the cave --Neanderthal real estate -- Of seals and limpets -- Birds of a feather -- The golden eagle -- Ambushing the scavengers -- The big six -- How to skin a vulture -- Pigeons and choughs -- Feeding the vultures -- The hashtag and the end of the long road to Neanderthal emancipation -- Appendix 1: Bird species cited in the text -- Appendix 2: Mammal species cited in the text.

Call Number

JFD 19-2737

ISBN

• 0198797524
• 9780198797524

OCLC

1089190124

Author

Finlayson, Clive, 1955- author.

Title

The smart Neanderthal : bird catching, cave art & the cognitive revolution / Clive Finlayson.

Publisher

Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2019.

Copyright Date

©2019

Edition

First edition.

Type of Content

text

still image

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-221) and index.

Other Form:

Electronic version: Finlayson, Clive. Smart neanderthal. First edition. Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2019 9780192518118 (OCoLC)1085890332

Research Call Number

JFD 19-2737