scholarly journals The origins of the Acheulean: past and present perspectives on a major transition in human evolution

2016 ◽  
Vol 371 (1698) ◽  
pp. 20150245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignacio de la Torre
Keyword(s):  
Human Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Homo Erectus ◽  
Major Transitions ◽  
Current State ◽  
Major Transition ◽  
Hard Evidence ◽  
History Of ◽  
Origins Research ◽  
Cumulative Knowledge

The emergence of the Acheulean from the earlier Oldowan constitutes a major transition in human evolution, the theme of this special issue. This paper discusses the evidence for the origins of the Acheulean, a cornerstone in the history of human technology, from two perspectives; firstly, a review of the history of investigations on Acheulean research is presented. This approach introduces the evolution of theories throughout the development of the discipline, and reviews the way in which cumulative knowledge led to the prevalent explanatory framework for the emergence of the Acheulean. The second part presents the current state of the art in Acheulean origins research, and reviews the hard evidence for the appearance of this technology in Africa around 1.7 Ma, and its significance for the evolutionary history of Homo erectus . This article is part of the themed issue ‘Major transitions in human evolution’.

The Major Transitions in Evolution

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Maynard Smith ◽  
Eors Szathmary
Keyword(s):  
Full Range ◽  
Evolution Of Cooperation ◽  
Major Transitions ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Major Transition ◽  
Life Itself ◽  
History Of ◽  
Emergence Of Cooperation ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

Over the history of life there have been several major changes in the way genetic information is organized and transmitted from one generation to the next. These transitions include the origin of life itself, the first eukaryotic cells, reproduction by sexual means, the appearance of multicellular plants and animals, the emergence of cooperation and of animal societies, and the unique language ability of humans. This ambitious book provides the first unified discussion of the full range of these transitions. The authors highlight the similarities between different transitions--between the union of replicating molecules to form chromosomes and of cells to form multicellular organisms, for example--and show how understanding one transition sheds light on others. They trace a common theme throughout the history of evolution: after a major transition some entities lose the ability to replicate independently, becoming able to reproduce only as part of a larger whole. The authors investigate this pattern and why selection between entities at a lower level does not disrupt selection at more complex levels. Their explanation encompasses a compelling theory of the evolution of cooperation at all levels of complexity. Engagingly written and filled with numerous illustrations, this book can be read with enjoyment by anyone with an undergraduate training in biology. It is ideal for advanced discussion groups on evolution and includes accessible discussions of a wide range of topics, from molecular biology and linguistics to insect societies.

Human Evolution

1984 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 182-198
Author(s):  
Catherine Badgley
Keyword(s):  
Human Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Pan Paniscus ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Great Apes ◽  
Sister Group ◽  
The Family ◽  
History Of ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Single Living

The evolutionary history of humans is well understood in outline, compared to that of many other groups of mammals. But human evolution remains enigmatic in its details, and these are compelling both scientifically and personally because they relate to the biological uniqueness of humans. Humans are placed in the primate family Hominidae, which, in traditional classifications, contains a single living species, Homo sapiens. The closest living relatives of humans are great apes: the chimpanzees Pan paniscus and Pan troglodytes, the gorilla Gorilla gorilla, and the orangutan Pongo pygmaeus. These apes have traditionally been placed in the family Pongidae as the sister group of Hominidae. Living Hominidae and Pongidae, together with Hylobatidae (gibbons) comprise the modern representatives of the primate suborder Hominoidea.

The shared evolutionary history of kinship classifications and language

2010 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 402-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Seyfarth ◽  
Dorothy L. Cheney
Keyword(s):  
Human Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
The Other ◽  
History Of ◽  
System Maps

AbstractAmong monkeys and apes, both the recognition and classification of individuals and the recognition and classification of vocalizations constitute discrete combinatorial systems. One system maps onto the other, suggesting that during human evolution kinship classifications and language shared a common cognitive precursor.

Alternative models of Pleistocene biocultural evolution: a response to Foley

Antiquity ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 63 (238) ◽  
pp. 153-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Human Evolution ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Human Origins ◽  
Single Source ◽  
Recent Discussion ◽  
Garden Of Eden ◽  
Biocultural Evolution ◽  
History Of ◽  
Origins Research

Human origins research has had a long history of vigorous debate. Recent discussion has been no exception, the more so perhaps as the strands of evidence — anthropological, archaeological, and now molecular-biological — are sufficiently diverse that not many can be well placed to deal fairly with them all. Here issue is taken with Foley's cladistic view of human evolution, and with the ‘Garden of Eden’ hypothesis of a single source in Africa for modern human populations.

scholarly journals The Role of Biological Significance in Human Learning and Memory

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin M. Seitz ◽  
Aaron P. Blaisdell ◽  
Cody W. Polack ◽  
Ralph R. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Human Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Prior Experience ◽  
Biological Significance ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Human Learning ◽  
Memory Research ◽  
History Of

Deeply rooted within the history of experimental psychology is the search for general laws of learning that hold across tasks and species. Central to this enterprise has been the notion of equipotentiality; that any two events have the same likelihood of being associated with one another as any other pair of events. Much work, generally summarized as ‘biological constraints on learning,’ has challenged this view, and demonstrates pre-existing relations between cues and outcomes, based on genes and prior experience, that influence potential associability. Learning theorists and comparative psychologists have thus recognized the need to consider how the evolutionary history as well as prior experience of the organism being studied influences its ability to learn about and navigate its environment. We suggest that current models of human memory, and human memory research in general, lack sufficient consideration of how human evolution has shaped human memory systems. We review several findings that suggest the human memory system preferentially processes information relevant to biological fitness, and highlight potential theoretical and applied benefits afforded by adopting this functionalist perspective.

The Divergent Evolution of Arthropod Brains

2018 ◽  
pp. 30-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. Strausfeld
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Divergent Evolution ◽  
Comparative Neuroanatomy ◽  
Middle Cambrian ◽  
Major Transitions ◽  
Horseshoe Crabs ◽  
History Of ◽  
Living Species

Occasionally, fossils recovered from lower and middle Cambrian sedimentary rocks contain the remains of nervous system. These residues reveal the symmetric arrangements of brain and ganglia that correspond to the ground patterns of brain and ventral ganglia of four major panarthropod clades existing today: Onychophora, Chelicerata, Myriapoda, and Pancrustacea. Comparative neuroanatomy of living species and studies of fossils suggest that highly conserved neuronal arrangements have been retained in these four lineages for more than a half billion years, despite some major transitions of neuronal architectures. This chapter will review recent explorations into the evolutionary history of the arthropod brain, concentrating on the subphylum Pancrustacea, which comprises hexapods and crustaceans, and on the subphylum Chelicerata, which includes horseshoe crabs, scorpions, and spiders. Studies of Pancrustacea illustrate some of the challenges in ascribing homology to centers that appear to have corresponding organization, whereas Chelicerata offers clear examples of both divergent cerebral evolution and convergence.

scholarly journals Evolution of Multicellularity

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1532
Author(s):  
J. Mark Cock
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Major Transitions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

The emergence of multicellular organisms was, perhaps, the most spectacular of the major transitions during the evolutionary history of life on this planet [...]

Throwing, Swimming, and Rowing

Sport ◽  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Schulkin
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Visual System ◽  
Social Organization ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Human Evolution ◽  
Tool Use ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Homo Erectus ◽  
Shoulder Flexibility ◽  
And Control

Continues the thread of our anchoring to objects and others in the organization of action and in sport in particular; social organization, human development, pedagogy, and tool use. I start with the visual system, so central to human evolution and our practice of most sports. I will then continue with problem solving and sport, throwing, swimming and rowing; biogical spreading through sports and sports impacting physical and mental capabilities. Human evolutionary history shows that throwing is a feature of our species and that to throw well was to survive. The capacity to store energy and release it with control, rapidity, and flexibility probably emerged with Homo erectus about 2 million years ago, along with greater flexibility of the torso; the infusion of energy vital for hunting and running emerged with shoulder flexibility and control over the elbow and wrist.

scholarly journals Mosaic evolution and the pattern of transitions in the hominin lineage

2016 ◽  
Vol 371 (1698) ◽  
pp. 20150244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Foley
Keyword(s):  
Human Evolution ◽  
Eukaryotic Cell ◽  
Major Transitions ◽  
Major Transition ◽  
Novel Taxa ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Major Transitions In Evolution

Humans are uniquely unique, in terms of the extreme differences between them and other living organisms, and the impact they are having on the biosphere. The evolution of humans can be seen, as has been proposed, as one of the major transitions in evolution, on a par with the origins of multicellular organisms or the eukaryotic cell (Maynard Smith & Szathmáry 1997 Major transitions in evolution ). Major transitions require the evolution of greater complexity and the emergence of new evolutionary levels or processes. Does human evolution meet these conditions? I explore the diversity of evidence on the nature of transitions in human evolution. Four levels of transition are proposed—baseline, novel taxa, novel adaptive zones and major transitions—and the pattern of human evolution considered in the light of these. The primary conclusions are that changes in human evolution occur continuously and cumulatively; that novel taxa and the appearance of new adaptations are not clustered very tightly in particular periods, although there are three broad transitional phases (Pliocene, Plio-Pleistocene and later Quaternary). Each phase is distinctive, with the first based on ranging and energetics, the second on technology and niche expansion, and the third on cognition and cultural processes. I discuss whether this constitutes a ‘major transition’ in the context of the evolutionary processes more broadly; the role of behaviour in evolution; and the opportunity provided by the rich genetic, phenotypic (fossil morphology) and behavioural (archaeological) record to examine in detail major transitions and the microevolutionary patterns underlying macroevolutionary change. It is suggested that the evolution of the hominin lineage is consistent with a mosaic pattern of change. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Major transitions in human evolution’.

Elaborating the role of reflection and individual differences in the study of folk-economic beliefs

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Arceneaux
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
History Of ◽  
Economic Beliefs

AbstractIntuitions guide decision-making, and looking to the evolutionary history of humans illuminates why some behavioral responses are more intuitive than others. Yet a place remains for cognitive processes to second-guess intuitive responses – that is, to be reflective – and individual differences abound in automatic, intuitive processing as well.

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