Nicholas Camferdam Nicholas Camferdam

Episode 7 - Think Before You Speak (Part 1)

The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1563). This painting depicts perhaps the most famous theory on the origin of human languages in the modern English-speaking world: the Tower of Babel story as told in Genesis 11:1-9. The background of …

The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1563). This painting depicts perhaps the most famous theory on the origin of human languages in the modern English-speaking world: the Tower of Babel story as told in Genesis 11:1-9. The background of this story, and the other Near Eastern origin myths which preceded it, will be discussed in the future.

In this episode, we explore what is perhaps the most important pair of cognitive abilities in the whole course of hominin evolution: causal reasoning, and language. We set up the contexts in which they evolved, and demonstrate how they form a serious barrier on the road to high intelligence and culture. This is part one of a two episode discussion which will foreshadow the remainder of the Lost Era in the prehistoric Near East.

Example of lion tracks, a natural sign best avoided by hominin hunters and foragers at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov. (Credit: Joachim Huber; Source Link)

Example of lion tracks, a natural sign best avoided by hominin hunters and foragers at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov. (Credit: Joachim Huber; Source Link)

Sources

Books

  1. Armstrong, D. F., Wilcox, S. E., & Wilcox, S. (2007). The Gestural Origin of Language. Oxford University Press.

  2. Ayala, F. J., & Conde, C. J. C. (2017). Processes in Human Evolution: The Journey from Early Hominins to Neanderthals and Modern Humans. Oxford University Press.

  3. Botha, R., & Knight, C. (Eds.). (2009). The Prehistory of Language (Vol. 11). Oxford University Press.

  4. Corballis, M. (2008). The Recursive Mind. Brain and Cognition, 67, S1.

  5. Dennell, R. (2008). The Paleolithic Settlement of Asia. Cambridge University Press.

  6. Enzel, Y., & Bar-Yosef, O. (Eds.). (2017). Quaternary of the Levant: Environments, Climate Change, and Humans. Cambridge University Press.

  7. Herrera, R. J., & Garcia-Bertrand, R. (2018). Ancestral DNA, Human Origins, and Migrations. Elsevier Academic Press.

  8. Laland, K. N. (2017). Darwin's Unfinished Symphony. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

  9. Shea, J. J. (2016). Stone Tools in Human Evolution: Behavioral Differences among Technological Primates. Cambridge University Press.

  10. Suddendorf, T. (2013). The Gap: The Science of What Separates Us from Other Animals. Constellation.

  11. Wenke, R. J., & Olszewski, D. (2006). Patterns in Prehistory: Humankind's First Three Million Years. New York: Oxford University Press.

Research Papers

  1. Agam, A., & Barkai, R. (2016). Not the brain alone: The nutritional potential of elephant heads in Paleolithic sites. Quaternary International, 406, 218-226.

  2. Alperson-Afil, N., Goren-Inbar, N., Herzlinger, G., & Wynn, T. (2020). Expert Retrieval Structures and Prospective Memory in the Cognition of Acheulian Hominins. Psychology, 11(01), 173.

  3. Ben-Dor, M., Gopher, A., Hershkovitz, I., & Barkai, R. (2011). Man the fat hunter: the demise of Homo erectus and the emergence of a new hominin lineage in the Middle Pleistocene (ca. 400 kyr) Levant. PLoS One, 6(12).

  4. Bolhuis, J. J., Tattersall, I., Chomsky, N., & Berwick, R. C. (2014). How could language have evolved?. PLoS Biology, 12(8).

  5. Corballis, M. C. (2019). Language, Memory, and Mental Time Travel: An Evolutionary Perspective. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 13, 217.

  6. Goren-Inbar, N. (2011). Culture and cognition in the Acheulian industry: a case study from Gesher Benot Yaʿaqov. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 366(1567), 1038-1049.

  7. Goren-Inbar, N., Grosman, L., & Sharon, G. (2011). The technology and significance of the Acheulian giant cores of Gesher Benot Ya ‘aqov, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science, 38(8), 1901-1917.

  8. Goren-Inbar, N., Lister, A., Werker, E., & Chech, M. (1994). A butchered elephant skull and associated artifacts from the Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel. Paléorient, 99-112.

  9. Laland, K. N. (2017). The origins of language in teaching. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 24(1), 225-231.

  10. Lombard, M., & Gardenfors, P. (2017). Tracking the evolution of causal cognition in humans. Journal of Anthropological Sciences, 95:219-234

  11. Pinker, S., & Jackendoff, R. (2005). The faculty of language: what's special about it?. Cognition, 95(2), 201-236.

  12. Sterelny, K. (2012). Language, gesture, skill: the co-evolutionary foundations of language. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 367(1599), 2141-2151.

  13. Stout, D. (2011). Stone toolmaking and the evolution of human culture and cognition. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 366(1567), 1050-1059.

  14. Stout, D., & Chaminade, T. (2012). Stone tools, language and the brain in human evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 367(1585), 75-87.

  15. Stuart-Fox, M. (2015). The origins of causal cognition in early hominins. Biology & Philosophy, 30(2), 247-266.

  16. Suddendorf, T., Addis, D. R., & Corballis, M. C. (2009). Mental time travel and the shaping of the human mind. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1521), 1317-1324.

  17. Vaesen, K. (2012). The cognitive bases of human tool use. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35(4), 203-218.

  18. Wynn, T., & Coolidge, F. L. (2016). Archeological insights into hominin cognitive evolution. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 25(4), 200-213.

  19. Zuberbühler, K. (2005). The phylogenetic roots of language: evidence from primate communication and cognition. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(3), 126-130.

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Nicholas Camferdam Nicholas Camferdam

Episode 6 - Arsonists and Elephant Hunters

Modern landscape surrounding Gesher Benot Ya’aqov. The Jordan River flows through the ravine at the center of the image, where the famous Jacob’s Ford is located, the last natural ford of the Jordan at the southern end of the Hula Basin between the …

Modern landscape surrounding Gesher Benot Ya’aqov. The Jordan River flows through the ravine at the center of the image, where the famous Jacob’s Ford is located, the last natural ford of the Jordan at the southern end of the Hula Basin between the Korazim Plateau and the Golan Heights.

Following the titanic shifts in climate brought on by the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, the Near East is entering an uncertain new phase. This new phase will bring unprecedented changes to hominins, and will culminate in, among other things, the appearance of the human species. The path we will take to reach that point is illustrated at the Levantine site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, one of the most fascinating and archaeologically-dense sites we'll ever encounter. Here we find an endless list of historical "firsts", but far more importantly, the changes to the hominin mind which made those firsts possible.

Excellent video produced by Naama Goren-Inbar, one of the principle archaeologists responsible for the excavation of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov. Here you can get a much better visual of the techniques and mechanics involved in the large core Acheulian, and what each component actually looked like. Take particular note of the various reduction strategies described (the biface method, the Kombewa method, the Levallois methos, the slicing method). These are the alternatives that GBY hominins could select between thanks to executive control.

Good overview of some of the key components of executive control, all of which are evidenced at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov.

Sources

Books

  1. Alperson-Afil, N., & Goren-Inbar, N. (2010). The Acheulian Site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov Volume II: Ancient Flames and Controlled Use of Fire. Springer Science & Business Media.

  2. Ayala, F. J., & Conde, C. J. C. (2017). Processes in Human Evolution: The Journey from Early Hominins to Neanderthals and Modern Humans. Oxford University Press.

  3. Dennell, R. (2008). The Paleolithic Settlement of Asia. Cambridge University Press.

  4. Enzel, Y., & Bar-Yosef, O. (Eds.). (2017). Quaternary of the Levant: Environments, Climate Change, and Humans. Cambridge University Press.

  5. Goren-Inbar, N., Alperson-Afil, N., Sharon, G., & Herzlinger, G. (2018). The Acheulian Site of Gesher Benot Ya ‘aqov Volume IV: The Lithic Assemblages. Springer Science and Business Media.

  6. Herrera, R. J., & Garcia-Bertrand, R. (2018). Ancestral DNA, Human Origins, and Migrations. Elsevier Academic Press.

  7. Laland, K. N. (2017). Darwin's Unfinished Symphony. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

  8. Matthews, R. (2000). The Early Prehistory of Mesopotamia, 500,000 to 4,500 BC. (Subartu V) (pp. 1-149). Brepols.

  9. Overmann, K. A., & Coolidge, F. L. (Eds.). (2019). Squeezing Minds from Stones: Cognitive Archaeology and the Evolution of the Human Mind. Oxford University Press.

  10. Scott, A. C. (2018). Burning Planet: The Story of Fire through Time. Oxford University Press.

  11. Shea, J. J. (2013). Stone Tools in the Paleolithic and Neolithic Near East: A Guide. Cambridge University Press.

  12. Shea, J. J. (2016). Stone Tools in Human Evolution: Behavioral Differences among Technological Primates. Cambridge University Press.

  13. Suddendorf, T. (2013). The Gap: The Science of What Separates Us from Other Animals. Constellation.

  14. Wenke, R. J., & Olszewski, D. (2006). Patterns in Prehistory: Humankind's First Three Million Years. New York: Oxford University Press.

Research Papers

  1. Agam, A., & Barkai, R. (2016). Not the brain alone: The nutritional potential of elephant heads in Paleolithic sites. Quaternary International, 406, 218-226.

  2. Alperson-Afil, N., Goren-Inbar, N., Herzlinger, G., & Wynn, T. (2020). Expert Retrieval Structures and Prospective Memory in the Cognition of Acheulian Hominins. Psychology, 11(01), 173.

  3. Alperson-Afil, N., Sharon, G., Kislev, M., Melamed, Y., Zohar, I., Ashkenazi, S., ... & Feibel, C. (2009). Spatial organization of hominin activities at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, Israel. Science, 326(5960), 1677-1680.

  4. Bar-Yosef, O., & Belmaker, M. (2011). Early and Middle Pleistocene faunal and hominins dispersals through Southwestern Asia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30(11-12), 1318-1337.

  5. Belitzky, S., Goren-Inbar, N., & Werker, E. (1991). A Middle Pleistocene wooden plank with man-made polish. Journal of Human Evolution, 20(4), 349-353.

  6. Ben-Dor, M., Gopher, A., Hershkovitz, I., & Barkai, R. (2011). Man the fat hunter: the demise of Homo erectus and the emergence of a new hominin lineage in the Middle Pleistocene (ca. 400 kyr) Levant. PLoS One, 6(12).

  7. Blasco, R., Rosell, J., Cuartero, F., Peris, J. F., Gopher, A., & Barkai, R. (2013). Using bones to shape stones: MIS 9 bone retouchers at both edges of the Mediterranean Sea. PLoS One, 8(10).

  8. Corballis, M. C. (2019). Language, Memory, and Mental Time Travel: An Evolutionary Perspective. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 13, 217.

  9. Herzlinger, G., & Goren-Inbar, N. (2019). Do a few tools necessarily mean a few people? A techno-morphological approach to the question of group size at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel. Journal of Human Evolution, 128, 45-58.

  10. Herzlinger, G., & Goren-Inbar, N. (2020). Beyond a Cutting Edge: a Morpho-technological Analysis of Acheulian Handaxes and Cleavers from Gesher Benot Ya ‘aqov, Israel. Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, 3(1), 33-58.

  11. Herzlinger, G., Wynn, T., & Goren-Inbar, N. (2017). Expert cognition in the production sequence of Acheulian cleavers at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel: A lithic and cognitive analysis. PloS One, 12(11).

  12. Goldberg, P., Miller, C. E., & Mentzer, S. M. (2017). Recognizing fire in the Paleolithic archaeological record. Current Anthropology, 58(S16), S175-S190.

  13. Goren-Inbar, N. (2011). Culture and cognition in the Acheulian industry: a case study from Gesher Benot Yaʿaqov. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 366(1567), 1038-1049.

  14. Goren-Inbar, N., Feibel, C. S., Verosub, K. L., Melamed, Y., Kislev, M. E., Tchernov, E., & Saragusti, I. (2000). Pleistocene milestones on the out-of-Africa corridor at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel. Science, 289(5481), 944-947.

  15. Goren-Inbar, N., Grosman, L., & Sharon, G. (2011). The technology and significance of the Acheulian giant cores of Gesher Benot Ya ‘aqov, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science, 38(8), 1901-1917.

  16. Goren-Inbar, N., Lister, A., Werker, E., & Chech, M. (1994). A butchered elephant skull and associated artifacts from the Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel. Paléorient, 99-112.

  17. Goren-Inbar, N., Melamed, Y., Zohar, I., Akhilesh, K., & Pappu, S. (2014). Beneath still waters–multistage aquatic exploitation of Euryale ferox (Salisb.) during the Acheulian. Internet Archaeol, 37(10.11141).

  18. Goren-Inbar, N., Sharon, G., Alperson-Afil, N., & Herzlinger, G. (2015). A new type of anvil in the Acheulian of Gesher Benot Ya ‘aqov, Israel. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 370(1682), 20140353.

  19. Gowlett, J. A. (2016). The discovery of fire by humans: a long and convoluted process. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371(1696), 20150164.

  20. Madsen, B. & Goren-Inbar, N. (2004). Acheulian giant core technology and beyond: An archaeological and experimental case study. Eurasian Prehistory 2: 3–52.

  21. Melamed, Y., Kislev, M. E., Geffen, E., Lev-Yadun, S., & Goren-Inbar, N. (2016). The plant component of an Acheulian diet at Gesher Benot Ya ‘aqov, Israel. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(51), 14674-14679.

  22. Moncel, M. H., Arzarello, M., Boëda, É., Bonilauri, S., Chevrier, B., Gaillard, C., ... & Zeitoun, V. (2018). The assemblages with bifacial tools in Eurasia (first part). What is going on in the West? Data on western and southern Europe and the Levant. Comptes Rendus Palevol, 17(1-2), 45-60.

  23. Parker, C. H., Keefe, E. R., Herzog, N. M., O'connell, J. F., & Hawkes, K. (2016). The pyrophilic primate hypothesis. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 25(2), 54-63.

  24. Rolland, N. (2004). Was the emergence of home bases and domestic fire a punctuated event? A review of the Middle Pleistocene record in Eurasia. Asian Perspectives, 248-280.

  25. Sharon, G., Alperson-Afil, N., & Goren-Inbar, N. (2011). Cultural conservatism and variability in the Acheulian sequence of Gesher Benot Ya ‘aqov. Journal of Human Evolution, 60(4), 387-397.

  26. Sharon, G., Barkai, R., Gowlett, J. A. J., Hodgson, D., Kuman, K., Petraglia, M. D., ... & Sharon, G. (2009). Acheulian giant-core technology: a worldwide perspective. Current Anthropology, 50(3), 335-367.

  27. Suddendorf, T., Addis, D. R., & Corballis, M. C. (2009). Mental time travel and the shaping of the human mind. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1521), 1317-1324.

  28. Vaesen, K. (2012). The cognitive bases of human tool use. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35(4), 203-218.

  29. Wrangham, R. (2017). Control of fire in the Paleolithic: evaluating the cooking hypothesis. Current Anthropology, 58(S16), S303-S313.

  30. Wynn, T., & Coolidge, F. L. (2016). Archeological insights into hominin cognitive evolution. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 25(4), 200-213.

  31. Zohar, I., & Biton, R. (2011). Land, lake, and fish: investigation of fish remains from Gesher Benot Ya ‘aqov (paleo-lake Hula). Journal of human evolution, 60(4), 343-356.

  32. Zohar, I., Goren, M., & Goren-Inbar, N. (2014). Fish and ancient lakes in the Dead Sea Rift: The use of fish remains to reconstruct the ichthyofauna of paleo-Lake Hula. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 405, 28-41.

Articles

  1. Anderson, L. V. (October 5, 2012). Who Mastered Fire? The heated archaeological debate about which hominids first started cooking. Slate. Retrieved from https://slate.com/technology/2012/10/who-invented-fire-when-did-people-start-cooking.html

  2. Burmester, A. (June 5, 2017). Working Memory: How You Keep Things “In Mind” Over the Short Term. Scientific American. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/working-memory-how-you-keep-things-ldquo-in-mind-rdquo-over-the-short-term/

  3. Dance, A. (June 19, 2017). Quest for Clues to Humanity's First Fires. Scientific American. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/quest-for-clues-to-humanitys-first-fires/

  4. Deleniv, S. (September 5, 2018). The 'me' illusion: How your brain conjures up your sense of self. New Scientist. Retrieved from https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23931940-100-the-me-illusion-how-your-brain-conjures-up-your-sense-of-self/

  5. Geggel, L. (December 21, 2016). What's Cookin'? Nothing, If You Were an Early Human. Live Science. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/57278-early-humans-ate-raw-meat.html

  6. Graziano, M. (June 6, 2016). A New Theory Explains How Consciousness Evolved. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/06/how-consciousness-evolved/485558/

  7. Hirst, K. K. (May 4, 2019). The Discovery of Fire. Thought Company. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-discovery-of-fire-169517

  8. Hurley, K. (January 10, 2017). Your Dog Remembers Even More about What You Do Than You Think. Scientific American. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/your-dog-remembers-even-more-about-what-you-do-than-you-think/

  9. Kaplan, M. (April 2, 2012). Million-year-old ash hints at origins of cooking. Nature. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/news/million-year-old-ash-hints-at-origins-of-cooking-1.10372

  10. Miller, K. (December 16, 2013). Archaeologists Find Earliest Evidence of Humans Cooking With Fire. Discover Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/archaeologists-find-earliest-evidence-of-humans-cooking-with-fire

  11. News Staff (December 5, 2016). Secrets of the paleo diet: Discovery reveals plant-based menu of prehistoric man. Phys.Org. Retrieved from https://phys.org/news/2016-12-secrets-paleo-diet-discovery-reveals.html

  12. Panko, B. (November 29, 2016). Dogs May Possess a Type of Memory Once Considered ‘Uniquely Human’. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dogs-remember-more-than-we-think-180961219/

  13. Scott, A. C. (June 1, 2018). When Did Humans Discover Fire? The Answer Depends on What You Mean By 'Discover'. Time Magazine. Retrieved from https://time.com/5295907/discover-fire/

  14. Walker, M. (June 22, 2016). The people who ate elephant heads. BBC. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160614-the-people-who-ate-elephant-heads

  15. Wilford, J. N. (December 21, 2009). Excavation Sites Show Distinct Living Areas Early in Stone Age. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22archaeo.html

  16. Zyga, L. (December 22, 2010). Scientists find evidence for 'chronesthesia,' or mental time travel. Phys.Org. Retrieved from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2010-12-scientists-evidence-chronesthesia-mental.html

Useful Links

Official website of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov: http://gby.huji.ac.il/

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on animal consciousness: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consciousness-animal/

Wikipedia entry on executive control: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_functions

Covid-19 Resources

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PP4oBLmOh2Cp6lMMwercH52nM-pAr_juBQLUmX_9QQg/edit#

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Nicholas Camferdam Nicholas Camferdam

Episode 5 - Welcome to the Neighborhood

Location of sites so far discussed in the podcast. Note the over-representation of the Levant in the archaeological record, and the complete or near-complete lack of sites in Central Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Iran. Also depicted are hypothetical mi…

Location of sites so far discussed in the podcast. Note the over-representation of the Levant in the archaeological record, and the complete or near-complete lack of sites in Central Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Iran. Also depicted are hypothetical migration routes taken by hominins out of Africa, across the Sinai, and into Asia. The dotted lines represent a possible secondary entry point in southern Arabia across the Bab el-Mandeb.

After three episodes stuck inside just two Near Eastern sites, we’re finally getting a look at what’s been going on in the rest of the region, Anatolia to Iran, the Caucasus to Arabia. Don’t get too comfortable though, because once we see what the Near Eastern Quaternary looked like, climate change will return to tear it all down.

Anatolian Plateau near the southeastern Taurus Mountains. This provides some idea of the landscape hominins needed to cross in order to reach western Anatolia at Kocabaş or the Gediz River, or to reach Europe. Remember that this is what it looks lik…

Anatolian Plateau near the southeastern Taurus Mountains. This provides some idea of the landscape hominins needed to cross in order to reach western Anatolia at Kocabaş or the Gediz River, or to reach Europe. Remember that this is what it looks like during an interglacial period. (Credit: Son Kahraman; Source Link)

Quartz chopper collected from the northeastern Iranian site of Kashafrud. (Credit: National Museum of Iran; Source Link)

Quartz chopper collected from the northeastern Iranian site of Kashafrud. (Credit: National Museum of Iran; Source Link)

Sources

Books

  1. Ayala, F. J., & Conde, C. J. C. (2017). Processes in Human Evolution: The Journey from Early Hominins to Neanderthals and Modern Humans. Oxford University Press.

  2. Dennell, R. (2008). The Paleolithic Settlement of Asia. Cambridge University Press.

  3. Enzel, Y., & Bar-Yosef, O. (Eds.). (2017). Quaternary of the Levant: Environments, Climate Change, and Humans. Cambridge University Press.

  4. Harvati, K., & Roksandic, M. (Eds.). (2017). Paleoanthropology of the Balkans and Anatolia: Human Evolution and Its Context. Springer.

  5. Herrera, R. J., & Garcia-Bertrand, R. (2018). Ancestral DNA, Human Origins, and Migrations. Elsevier Academic Press.

  6. Matthews, R. (2000). The Early Prehistory of Mesopotamia, 500,000 to 4,500 BC. (Subartu V) (pp. 1-149). Brepols.

  7. Potts, D. T. (Ed.). (2013). The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford University Press.

  8. Sagona, A., & Zimansky, P. (2015). Ancient Turkey. Routledge.

  9. Shea, J. J. (2013). Stone Tools in the Paleolithic and Neolithic Near East: A Guide. Cambridge University Press.

  10. Shea, J. J. (2016). Stone Tools in Human Evolution: Behavioral Differences among Technological Primates. Cambridge University Press.

  11. Wenke, R. J., & Olszewski, D. (2006). Patterns in Prehistory: Humankind's First Three Million Years. New York: Oxford University Press.

Research Papers

  1. Bar-Yosef, O. (1992). The role of western Asia in modern human origins. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 337(1280), 193-200.

  2. Bar-Yosef, O., & Belfer-Cohen, A. (2001). From Africa to Eurasia—early dispersals. Quaternary International, 75(1), 19-28.

  3. Bar-Yosef, O., & Belmaker, M. (2011). Early and Middle Pleistocene faunal and hominins dispersals through Southwestern Asia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30(11-12), 1318-1337.

  4. Biglari, F., & Shidrang, S. (2006). The lower paleolithic occupation of Iran. Near Eastern Archaeology, 69(3-4), 160-168.

  5. Bridgland, D. R., Westaway, R., Romieh, M. A., Candy, I., Daoud, M., Demir, T., ... & White, T. S. (2012). The River Orontes in Syria and Turkey: downstream variation of fluvial archives in different crustal blocks. Geomorphology, 165, 25-49.

  6. de Castro, J. M. B., & Martinón-Torres, M. (2013). A new model for the evolution of the human Pleistocene populations of Europe. Quaternary International, 295, 102-112.

  7. Chalk, T. B., Hain, M. P., Foster, G. L., Rohling, E. J., Sexton, P. F., Badger, M. P., ... & Martínez-García, A. (2017). Causes of ice age intensification across the Mid-Pleistocene Transition. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(50), 13114-13119.

  8. Dodonov, A. E., Deviatkin, E. V., Ranov, V. A., & Khatib, K. (1993). Latamne formation in the Orontes river valley. BAR International Series, 687, 189-189.

  9. Ehrlich, R. (2007). Solar resonant diffusion waves as a driver of terrestrial climate change. Journal of atmospheric and solar-terrestrial physics, 69(7), 759-766.

  10. Guipert, G., Vialet, A., & Alcicek, M. C. (2011, January). The Homo erectus from Kocabas in Turkey and the first settlements in Eurasia. In American Journal of Physical Anthropology (Vol. 144, pp. 151-151).

  11. Güleç, E., Howell, F. C., & White, T. D. (1999). Dursunlu-A new lower Pleistocene faunal and artifact-bearing locality in southern Anatolia. Hominid evolution: lifestyle and survival strategies. Edition Archea, Berlin, 349-364.

  12. Maddy, D., Schreve, D., Demir, T., Veldkamp, A., Wijbrans, J. R., Van Gorp, W., ... & Stemerdink, C. (2015). The earliest securely-dated hominin artefact in Anatolia?. Quaternary science reviews, 109, 68-75.

  13. Petraglia, M. D. (2003). The Lower Paleolithic of the Arabian Peninsula: occupations, adaptations, and dispersals. Journal of World Prehistory, 17(2), 141-179.

  14. Tappen, M., Adler, D. S., Ferring, C. R., Gabunia, M., Vekua, A., & Swisher III, C. C. (2002). Akhalkalaki: the taphonomy of an Early Pleistocene locality in the Republic of Georgia. Journal of Archaeological Science, 29(12), 1367-1391.

  15. Willeit, M., Ganopolski, A., Calov, R., & Brovkin, V. (2019). Mid-Pleistocene transition in glacial cycles explained by declining CO2 and regolith removal. Science Advances, 5(4), eaav7337.

  16. Zaidner, Y. (2003). The use of raw material at the Lower Palaeolithic site of Bizat Ruhama, Israel. BAR International Series, 1115, 121-132.

  17. Zaidner, Y. (2003). The lithic assemblage of Bizat Ruhama: Lower Paleolithic site in southern coastal plain, Israel (Doctoral dissertation, MA dissertation, Haifa University, Haifa, Israel).

Useful Links

Introduction to the Oldowan and the Acheulian:

http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/origins/acheulean_stone_tools.php

Summary of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, the 100,000 year problem, and possible explanations:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100,000-year_problem

http://www.thefosterlab.org/mpt

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Nicholas Camferdam Nicholas Camferdam

Episode 4 - A Paleolithic Swiss Army Knife

Reconstruction of what the local environment of ‘Ubeidiya may have looked like during interglacial periods. Note the stream and marshy lake shore, exposed cliff faces, and diverse fauna drawn to the lakeside. Also note the group of hominins in the b…

Reconstruction of what the local environment of ‘Ubeidiya may have looked like during interglacial periods. Note the stream and marshy lake shore, exposed cliff faces, and diverse fauna drawn to the lakeside. Also note the group of hominins in the bottom center carving up an animal carcass. Hominin sites would have been scattered throughout this field and beyond. (Credit: Herrera, pg. 146)

In this episode, we take a look at the most important site from the core region of the Early Paleolithic Near East: the Levantine site of ‘Ubeidiya. From its 400,000 years of occupation, we get a look at one of the most critical technological revolutions in hominin history, and foreshadowing of what Near Eastern humans will later achieve.

Locations of Dmanisi and ‘Ubeidiya

Locations of Dmanisi and ‘Ubeidiya

Examples of pebble core choppers. Note the bulky size, variable shape, and rough, obtuse, asymmetrical cutting edges. (Credit: Didier Descouens; Source Link)

Examples of pebble core choppers. Note the bulky size, variable shape, and rough, obtuse, asymmetrical cutting edges. (Credit: Didier Descouens; Source Link)

Typical example of a long core tool (biface). Note the thin, tear drop shape, long, acute cutting edge, and symmetry. (Credit: José-Manuel Benito Álvarez; Source Link)

Typical example of a long core tool (biface). Note the thin, tear drop shape, long, acute cutting edge, and symmetry. (Credit: José-Manuel Benito Álvarez; Source Link)

Sources

Books

  1. Ayala, F. J., & Conde, C. J. C. (2017). Processes in Human Evolution: The Journey from Early Hominins to Neanderthals and Modern Humans. Oxford University Press.

  2. Bar-Yosef, O., Gilead, I., & Goren-Inbar, N. (1993). The Lithic Assemblages of 'Ubeidiya, A Lower Palaeolithic Site in the Jordan Valley. Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

  3. Dennell, R. (2008). The Paleolithic Settlement of Asia. Cambridge University Press.

  4. Enzel, Y., & Bar-Yosef, O. (Eds.). (2017). Quaternary of the Levant: Environments, Climate Change, and Humans. Cambridge University Press.

  5. Herrera, R. J., & Garcia-Bertrand, R. (2018). Ancestral DNA, Human Origins, and Migrations. Elsevier Academic Press.

  6. Horowitz, A. (2001) The Jordan Rift Valley. Lisse: Balkema.

  7. Laland, K. N. (2017). Darwin's Unfinished Symphony (pp. 151-155). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

  8. Matthews, R. (2000). The Early Prehistory of Mesopotamia, 500,000 to 4,500 BC. (Subartu V) (pp. 1-149). Brepols.

  9. Renfrew, C., & Bahn, P. (Eds.). (2014). The Cambridge World Prehistory. Cambridge University Press.

  10. Roberts, J. M., & Westad, O. M. (2014). The Penguin History of the World, 6th Edition. Penguin Random House.

  11. Shea, J. J. (2013). Stone Tools in the Paleolithic and Neolithic Near East: A Guide. Cambridge University Press.

  12. Shea, J. J. (2016). Stone Tools in Human Evolution: Behavioral Differences among Technological Primates. Cambridge University Press.

  13. Wenke, R. J., & Olszewski, D. (2006). Patterns in Prehistory: Humankind's First Three Million Years. New York: Oxford University Press.

Research Papers

  1. Bar-Yosef, O. (1992). The role of western Asia in modern human origins. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 337(1280), 193-200.

  2. Corbey, R., Jagich, A., Vaesen, K., & Collard, M. (2016). The acheulean handaxe: More like a bird's song than a beatles' tune?. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 25(1), 6-19.

  3. Dowsett, H., Thompson, R., Barron, J., Cronin, T., Fleming, F., Ishman, S., ... & Holtz Jr, T. (1994). Joint investigations of the Middle Pliocene climate I: PRISM paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Global and Planetary Change, 9(3-4), 169-195.

  4. Gaudzinski, S. (2004). Subsistence patterns of Early Pleistocene hominids in the Levant—taphonomic evidence from the'Ubeidiya Formation (Israel). Journal of Archaeological Science, 31(1), 65-75.

  5. Machin, A. J., Hosfield, R. T., & Mithen, S. J. (2007). Why are some handaxes symmetrical? Testing the influence of handaxe morphology on butchery effectiveness. Journal of Archaeological Science, 34(6), 883-893.

  6. Muller, A., & Clarkson, C. (2016). Identifying major transitions in the evolution of lithic cutting edge production rates. PloS one, 11(12), e0167244.

  7. Stout, D. (2011). Stone toolmaking and the evolution of human culture and cognition. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 366(1567), 1050-1059.

  8. Stout, D., & Chaminade, T. (2012). Stone tools, language and the brain in human evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 367(1585), 75-87.

  9. Vaesen, K. (2012). The cognitive bases of human tool use. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35(4), 203-218.

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Nicholas Camferdam Nicholas Camferdam

Episode 3 - Invention and Retention

Simple core tool, typical of those found at the site of Dmanisi. Note the lack of symmetry, the rough, uneven cutting edge, and the majority of the sides which remain untouched.

Simple core tool, typical of those found at the site of Dmanisi. Note the lack of symmetry, the rough, uneven cutting edge, and the majority of the sides which remain untouched.

Humans and their ancestors are notoriously messy, but of all the things they leave on the ground, what survives the longest is rocks. In this episode, we take a look at the origins and development of (arguably) the first technology in history, stone tools, and what the Near Eastern archaeological record can tell us about them. From that specific example though, we also take a look at how hominins gain and hold onto knowledge generally, and how that knowledge builds on itself into something entirely new.

Nicholas Toth shows how early humans made stone tools that were simple but effective. Website: https://www.bighistoryproject.com/portal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bighistoryproject Twitter: https://twitter.com/BigHistoryPro

Sources

Books

  1. Ayala, F. J., & Conde, C. J. C. (2017). Processes in Human Evolution: The Journey from Early Hominins to Neanderthals and Modern Humans. Oxford University Press.

  2. Dennell, R. (2008). The Paleolithic Settlement of Asia. Cambridge University Press.

  3. Herrera, R. J., & Garcia-Bertrand, R. (2018). Ancestral DNA, Human Origins, and Migrations. Elsevier Academic Press.

  4. Heyes, C. M., & Huber, L. (Eds.). (2000). The Evolution of Cognition. MIT Press.

  5. Laland, K. N. (2017). Darwin's Unfinished Symphony (pp. 151-155). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

  6. Renfrew, C., & Bahn, P. (Eds.). (2014). The Cambridge World Prehistory. Cambridge University Press.

  7. Roberts, J. M., & Westad, O. M. (2014). The Penguin History of the World, 6th Edition. Penguin Random House.

  8. Schaller, M., Norenzayan, A., Heine, S. J., Yamagishi, T., & Kameda, T. (2011). Evolution, Culture, and the Human Mind. Psychology Press.

  9. Shea, J. J. (2013). Stone Tools in the Paleolithic and Neolithic Near East: A Guide. Cambridge University Press.

  10. Shea, J. J. (2016). Stone Tools in Human Evolution: Behavioral Differences among Technological Primates. Cambridge University Press.

  11. Torrence, R., Audouze, F., Renfrew, C., Schlanger, N., Sherratt, A., Taylor, T., & Ashmore, W. (Eds.). (1989). Time, Energy and Stone Tools. Cambridge University Press.

  12. Tylor, E. B. (1871). Primitive Culture: Volume I. Dover Thrift Editions

  13. Wenke, R. J., & Olszewski, D. (2006). Patterns in Prehistory: Humankind's First Three Million Years. New York: Oxford University Press.

Research Papers

  1. Baena, J., Lordkipanidze, D., Cuartero, F., Ferring, R., Zhvania, D., Martín, D., ... & Rubio, D. (2010). Technical and technological complexity in the beginning: the study of Dmanisi lithic assemblage. Quaternary International, 223, 45-53.

  2. Harmand, S., Lewis, J. E., Feibel, C. S., Lepre, C. J., Prat, S., Lenoble, A., ... & Taylor, N. (2015). 3.3-million-year-old stone tools from Lomekwi 3, West Turkana, Kenya. Nature, 521(7552), 310.

  3. Mgeladze, A., Lordkipanidze, D., Moncel, M. H., Despriee, J., Chagelishvili, R., Nioradze, M., & Nioradze, G. (2011). Hominin occupations at the Dmanisi site, Georgia, Southern Caucasus: Raw materials and technical behaviours of Europe’s first hominins. Journal of Human Evolution, 60(5), 571-596.

  4. Nakamura, M., Hosaka, K., Itoh, N., Matsumoto, T., Matsusaka, T., Nakazawa, N., ... & Yamagami, M. (2019). Wild chimpanzees deprived a leopard of its kill: Implications for the origin of hominin confrontational scavenging. Journal of human evolution, 131, 129-138.

  5. Stout, D. (2011). Stone toolmaking and the evolution of human culture and cognition. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 366(1567), 1050-1059.

  6. Stout, D., & Chaminade, T. (2012). Stone tools, language and the brain in human evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 367(1585), 75-87.

  7. Vaesen, K. (2012). The cognitive bases of human tool use. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35(4), 203-218.

Articles

  1. Georgiou, A. (July 3, 2019). These Stone Tools Made 2.6 Million Years are the Oldest of their Kind. Newsweek. Retrieved from https://www.newsweek.com/these-stone-tools-made-26-million-years-are-oldest-their-kind-1441861

  2. Gibbons, A. (November 22, 2016). Meet the frail, small-brained people who first trekked out of Africa. Science Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/11/meet-frail-small-brained-people-who-first-trekked-out-africa

  3. Lewis, D. (June 4, 2019). For those about to rock: the birthplace of humanity’s tool kit found. Cosmos Magazine. Retrieved from https://cosmosmagazine.com/archaeology/for-those-about-to-rock-the-birthplace-of-humanity-s-tool-kit-found

  4. Thompson, H. (May 20, 2015). The Oldest Stone Tools Yet Discovered Are Unearthed in Kenya. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/oldest-known-stone-tools-unearthed-kenya-180955341/

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Nicholas Camferdam Nicholas Camferdam

Episode 2 - The First Near Easterners

Ruins of the medieval Dmanisi castle, with the hominin archaeological site visible in the trees in the background. Note the convergence of the two river valleys just beyond the site, as well as the low trees and brush which characterize the modern e…

Ruins of the medieval Dmanisi castle, with the hominin archaeological site visible in the trees in the background. Note the convergence of the two river valleys just beyond the site, as well as the low trees and brush which characterize the modern environment of this part of Georgia. (Credit: Larry V. Dumlao; Source Link)

Take a deep dive into the (so far) earliest known hominin site outside Africa, and what is arguably the most important archaeological find from the Early Paleolithic: the Georgian site of Dmanisi. Here, around 1.8 million years ago, hominins left us with more than enough evidence to get Near Eastern prehistory started: their food, their tools, and even their skulls. With these remains we learn more about daily life for early Homo, and get even more confused about who early Homo might have been.

Skull 4, the fourth hominin skull found at Dmanisi. This individual was an elderly male, probably in his late fifties, who seems to have lost all of his teeth well before death. Currently located at the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins at the Smi…

Skull 4, the fourth hominin skull found at Dmanisi. This individual was an elderly male, probably in his late fifties, who seems to have lost all of his teeth well before death. Currently located at the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. (Credit: Ryan Somma; Source Link)

Sources

Books

  1. Ayala, F. J., & Conde, C. J. C. (2017). Processes in Human Evolution: The Journey from Early Hominins to Neanderthals and Modern Humans. Oxford University Press.

  2. Dennell, R. (2008). The Palaeolithic Settlement of Asia. Cambridge University Press.

  3. Herrera, R. J., & Garcia-Bertrand, R. (2018). Ancestral DNA, Human Origins, and Migrations. Elsevier Academic Press.

  4. Heyes, C. M., & Huber, L. (Eds.). (2000). The Evolution of Cognition. MIT Press.

  5. Renfrew, C., & Bahn, P. (Eds.). (2014). The Cambridge World Prehistory. Cambridge university Press.

  6. Roberts, J. M., & Westad, O. M. (2014). The Penguin History of the World, 6th Edition. Penguin Random House

  7. Stringer, C. (2012). Lone Survivors: How We Came to be the Only Humans on Earth. Macmillan.

  8. Wenke, R. J., & Olszewski, D. (2006). Patterns in Prehistory: Humankind's First Three Million Years. New York: Oxford University Press.

Research Papers

  1. Agustí, J., & Lordkipanidze, D. (2011). How “African” was the early human dispersal out of Africa?. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30(11-12), 1338-1342.

  2. Lordkipanidze, D., de León, M. S. P., Margvelashvili, A., Rak, Y., Rightmire, G. P., Vekua, A., & Zollikofer, C. P. (2013). A complete skull from Dmanisi, Georgia, and the evolutionary biology of early Homo. Science, 342(6156), 326-331.

  3. Messager, E., Lordkipanidze, D., Kvavadze, E., Ferring, C. R., & Voinchet, P. (2010). Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of Dmanisi site (Georgia) based on palaeobotanical data. Quaternary International, 223, 20-27.

  4. Rightmire, G. P., de Leon, M. S. P., Lordkipanidze, D., Margvelashvili, A., & Zollikofer, C. P. (2017). Skull 5 from Dmanisi: Descriptive anatomy, comparative studies, and evolutionary significance. Journal of Human Evolution, 104, 50-79.

  5. Rightmire, G. P., Margvelashvili, A., & Lordkipanidze, D. (2019). Variation among the Dmanisi hominins: Multiple taxa or one species?. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 168(3), 481-495.

  6. Vaesen, K. (2012). The cognitive bases of human tool use. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35(4), 203-218.

  7. Williams, A. C., & Hill, L. J. (2017). Meat and nicotinamide: a causal role in human evolution, history, and demographics. International Journal of Tryptophan Research, 10, 1178646917704661.

  8. Wood, B. (2011). Did early Homo migrate “out of” or “in to” Africa?. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(26), 10375-10376.

  9. Zink, K. D., & Lieberman, D. E. (2016). Impact of meat and Lower Palaeolithic food processing techniques on chewing in humans. Nature, 531(7595), 500.

Articles

  1. Gibbons, A. (November 22, 2016). Meet the frail, small-brained people who first trekked out of Africa. Science Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/11/meet-frail-small-brained-people-who-first-trekked-out-africa

  2. Ireland, C. (April 3, 2008). Eating meat led to smaller stomachs, bigger brains. The Harvard Gazette. Retrieved from https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2008/04/eating-meat-led-to-smaller-stomachs-bigger-brains/

  3. News Staff (April 7, 2005). Early hominid ‘cared for elderly’. BBC. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4418363.stm

  4. News Staff (October 18, 2013). Dmanisi Human: Skull from Georgia Implies All Early Homo Species were One. Sci-News. Retrieved from http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/anthropology/science-dmanisi-human-skull-georgia-01474.html

  5. Pobiner, B. (2013). Evidence for Meat-Eating by Early Humans. Nature. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/evidence-for-meat-eating-by-early-humans-103874273/

  6. Switek, B. (October 19, 2013). Beautiful Skull Spurs Debate on Human History. National Geographic. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131017-skull-human-origins-dmanisi-georgia-erectus/

Useful Links

Main website of Dmanisi archaeological site: http://www.dmanisi.ge/?lang=en

Brief look at Skull 2 (D2282) and Skull 4 (D3444) on Smithsonian website: http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/fossils

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Nicholas Camferdam Nicholas Camferdam

Episode 1 - Before the Beginning

Map of key geographic features in the prehistoric Near East. Most of these regions, mountains, deserts, and rivers will remain relevant throughout the podcast, as new terms enter story. This map will be updated over time to reflect what’s most impor…

Map of key geographic features in the prehistoric Near East. Most of these regions, mountains, deserts, and rivers will remain relevant throughout the podcast, as new terms enter story. This map will be updated over time to reflect what’s most important.

This episode covers the important geographic, evolutionary, and environmental background within which the first arrival of our hominin ancestors in the Near East took place. Not much of this episode pertains to the Near East specifically, but it does introduce a lot of important story elements which will follow us throughout the prehistoric period, as well as the historic period.

Rough map of the Paratethys Sea around 30 million years ago, overlaid modern coastlines (marked by black lines). Note the location of the Near East.

Rough map of the Paratethys Sea around 30 million years ago, overlaid modern coastlines (marked by black lines). Note the location of the Near East.

Sources

Books

  1. Ayala, F. J., & Conde, C. J. C. (2017). Processes in Human Evolution: The Journey from Early Hominins to Neanderthals and Modern Humans. Oxford University Press.

  2. Dennell, R. (2008). The Paleolithic Settlement of Asia. Cambridge University Press.

  3. Enzel, Y., & Bar-Yosef, O. (Eds.). (2017). Quaternary of the Levant: Environments, Climate Change, and Humans. Cambridge University Press.

  4. Herrera, R. J., & Garcia-Bertrand, R. (2018). Ancestral DNA, Human Origins, and Migrations. Elsevier Academic Press.

  5. Regal, B. (2004). Human Evolution: A Guide to the Debates. ABC-CLIO.

  6. Renfrew, C., & Bahn, P. (Eds.). (2014). The Cambridge World Prehistory. Cambridge university Press.

  7. Renfrew, C. (2016). Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice, 7th Edition. Thames & Hudson.

  8. Roberts, J. M., & Westad, O. M. (2014). The Penguin History of the World, 6th Edition. Penguin Random House.

  9. Wenke, R. J., & Olszewski, D. (2006). Patterns in Prehistory: Humankind's First Three Million Years. New York: Oxford University Press.

Research Papers

  1. Bar-Yosef, O., & Belmaker, M. (2011). Early and Middle Pleistocene faunal and hominins dispersals through Southwestern Asia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30(11-12), 1318-1337.

  2. Ronen, A. (2006). The oldest human groups in the Levant. Comptes Rendus Palevol, 5(1-2), 343-351.

  3. Ronen, A., Inbar, M., Klein, M., & Brunnacker, K. (1980). Artifact-bearing gravels beneath the Yiron Basalt. Israelian Journal of Earth Sciences, 29, 221-226.

  4. Zhu, Z., Dennell, R., Huang, W., Wu, Y., Qiu, S., Yang, S., ... & Ouyang, T. (2018). Hominin occupation of the Chinese Loess Plateau since about 2.1 million years ago. Nature, 559(7715), 608.

Useful Links

Quaternary Climate Cycles: https://www.livescience.com/64813-milankovitch-cycles.html

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Nicholas Camferdam Nicholas Camferdam

Episode 0 - Introduction

Modern political map of the region once commonly known as the Near East

Modern political map of the region once commonly known as the Near East

This episode acts as an introduction to the podcast, covering the scope, goals, and technical aspects to expect in the future.

Sources

  1. Kuhrt, A. (1995). The Ancient Near East, c. 3000-330 BC (Vol 1). Taylor & Francis US.

  2. Liverani, M. (2013). The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. Routledge.

  3. Stiebing Jr, W. H., & Helft, S. N. (2017). Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture, 3rd Edition. Routledge.

  4. Van de Mieroop, M. (2015). A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC, 3rd Edition. John Wiley & Sons.

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