Four-Field Co-evolutionary Model for Human Cognition: Variation in the Middle Stone Age/Middle Palaeolithic

Lombard, Marlize; Högberg, Anders

doi:10.1007/s10816-020-09502-6

Cited by 38 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 229 publications

(202 reference statements)

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“…In addition, in a large genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals seeking to identify specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure [42], one variant (rs75255901) in Table 1, linked to DAAM1, has been identified as a putative causal variant affecting the precuneus. All these brain structures have been independently argued to have undergone recent evolution in our lineage [37,43,44,45], and their associated variants are dated amongst the most recent ones in the table.…”

Section: Gene Expression Predictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine-grained temporal mapping of derived high-frequency variants supports the mosaic nature of the evolution ofHomo sapiens

Andirkó

Moriano

Vitriolo

et al. 2021

Preprint

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As our knowledge about the history of the sapiens lineage becomes increasingly complex, large-scale estimations of the time of emergence of derived variants become essential to be able to offer more precise answers to time-sensitive hypotheses concerning human evolution. Using an open repository of genetic variant age estimations recently made available, we offer here a temporal evaluation of various evolutionarily relevant datasets, such as sapiens-specific variants, high-frequency variants found in genetic windows under positive selection, introgressed variants from extinct human species, as well as putative regulatory variants in various brain regions. We find a recurrent bimodal distribution of high-frequency variants, but also evidence for specific enrichments of gene categories in various time windows, which brings into prominence the 300-500k time slice. We also find evidence for very early mutations impacting the facial phenotype, and much more recent molecular events linked to specific brain regions such as the cerebellum or the precuneus. Additionally, we present a case study of an evolutionarily relevant gene, BAZ1B, and its targets, to emphasize the importance of applying temporal data to specific evolutionary questions. Overall, we present a unique resource that informs and complements our previous knowledge of sapiens evolution using publicly available data, and reinforce the case for the mosaic, temporally very extended nature of the evolutionary trajectory of our species.

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Section: Gene Expression Predictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine-grained temporal mapping of derived high-frequency variants supports the mosaic nature of the evolution ofHomo sapiens

Andirkó

Moriano

Vitriolo

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…The principle entails that the grades of causal understanding do not necessarily follow a unilinear evolutionary trajectory. Aspects of each type of thinking may have evolved parallel to one another, or are still evolving within continuing coevolutionary feedback loops with other relevant fields such as social frameworks, human biology (e.g., brain and DNA) and ecology (Lombard and Högberg 2021). Within each grade of causal understanding there might also be several levels of complexity that developed at different times in different places and/or in different hominin populations.…”

Section: Grades Of Causal Cognition Their Relation To Theory Of Mindmentioning

confidence: 99%

Causal Cognition and Theory of Mind in Evolutionary Cognitive Archaeology

Lombard

Gärdenfors

2021

Biol Theory

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It is widely thought that causal cognition underpins technical reasoning. Here we suggest that understanding causal cognition as a thinking system that includes theory of mind (i.e., social cognition) can be a productive theoretical tool for the field of evolutionary cognitive archaeology. With this contribution, we expand on an earlier model that distinguishes seven grades of causal cognition, explicitly presenting it together with a new analysis of the theory of mind involved in the different grades. We then suggest how such thinking may manifest in the archaeological or stone tool record and techno-behaviors of the last three million years or so. Our thesis is threefold: (a) theory of mind is an integral element of causal cognition; (b) generally speaking, the more advanced causal cognition is, the more it is dependent on theory of mind; and (c) the evolution of causal cognition depends more and more on mental representations of hidden variables. Ultimately, the final or seventh grade of causal cognition allows us to reason from a network of hidden variables that, amongst other things, enables the learning, manufacture, and use of complex technological systems. It also facilitates the seamless mapping of knowledge between personal (egocentric), physical, and social networks that allows for newly devised and innovative technical and social outcomes.

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“…The assumptions of simulations are not necessarily incorrect. However, taking one outcome as virtually inevitable, and ignoring gene-flow between populations (see discussion in Lombard and Högberg 2021), is of limited value in testing hypotheses on the causes and likelihood of that outcome. This excursion illustrates the kind of gradualist, teleological thinking that dominates ideas on hominin anatomic, behavioural, and technological evolution.…”

Section: Computer Simulation-teleology In Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constraining the Likely Technological Niches of Late Middle Pleistocene Hominins with Homo naledi as Case Study

Dusseldorp

Lombard

2021

J Archaeol Method Theory

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We develop a framework to differentiate the technological niches of co-existing hominin species by reviewing some theoretical biases influential in thinking about techno-behaviours of extinct hominins, such as a teleological bias in discussing technological evolution. We suggest that some stone-tool classification systems underestimate technological variability, while overestimating the complexity of the behaviours most commonly represented. To model the likely technological niches of extinct populations, we combine ecological principles (i.e. competitive exclusion) with physical anthropology and the archaeological record. We test the framework by applying it to the co-existence of Homo naledi and Homo sapiens during the late Middle Pleistocene in southern Africa. Based on our analysis, we suggest that tool use was probably not an essential part of H. naledi’s niche, but that technology occasionally provided caloric benefits. In contrast, tool use was a structural part of the H. sapiens way of life. We provide reasoning for our interpretation that the latter population is associated with more sophisticated reduction strategies and the development of prepared core technology. The method also has applicability to cases such as the co-existence of different toolmakers during the Earlier Stone Age (ESA) in East Africa and the co-existence of Neanderthals and H. sapiens in Eurasia.

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Four-Field Co-evolutionary Model for Human Cognition: Variation in the Middle Stone Age/Middle Palaeolithic

Cited by 38 publications

References 229 publications

Fine-grained temporal mapping of derived high-frequency variants supports the mosaic nature of the evolution ofHomo sapiens

Fine-grained temporal mapping of derived high-frequency variants supports the mosaic nature of the evolution ofHomo sapiens

Causal Cognition and Theory of Mind in Evolutionary Cognitive Archaeology

Constraining the Likely Technological Niches of Late Middle Pleistocene Hominins with Homo naledi as Case Study

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