Sourcebook of Paleolithic Transitions
Sourcebook of Paleolithic Transitions

Author: Marta Camps

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2009-09-01

Total Pages: 575

ISBN-13: 0387764879

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As the study of Palaeolithic technologies moves towards a more analytical approach, it is necessary to determine a consistent procedural framework. The contributions to this timely and comprehensive volume do just that. This volume incorporates a broad chronological and geographical range of Palaeolithic material from the Lower to Upper Palaeolithic. The focus of this volume is to provide an analysis of Palaeolithic technologies from a quantitative, empirical perspective. As new techniques, particularly quantitative methods, for analyzing Palaeolithic technologies gain popularity, this work provides case studies particularly showcasing these new techniques. Employing diverse case studies, and utilizing multivariate approaches, morphometrics, model-based approaches, phylogenetics, cultural transmission studies, and experimentation, this volume provides insights from international contributors at the forefront of recent methodological advances.

Geology and Geoarchaeology of the Black Sea Region
Geology and Geoarchaeology of the Black Sea Region

Author: Ilya Val Buynevich

Publisher: Geological Society of America

Published: 2011-01-01

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 0813724732

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"Contributors from twelve countries wrote the twelve chapters in this Special Paper, and they address a range of topics, including climatic and hydrologic modeling, paleogeographic reconstruction of Late Quaternary landscapes, palynology and paleoclimate reconstruction, and geoarchaeological studies, both onshore and offshore. The volume serves as a timely reference for continuing research in a region harboring a number of newly independent states that are now faced with population pressure and a variety of environmental issues."--

Transitions Before the Transition
Transitions Before the Transition

Author: Erella Hovers

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-01-06

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 0387246614

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Modern human origins and the fate of the Neanderthals are arguably the most compelling and contentious arenas in paleoanthropology. The much-discussed split between advocates of a single, early emergence of anatomically modern humans in sub-Saharan Africa and supporters of various regional continuity positions is only part of the picture. Equally if not more important are questions surrounding the origins of modern behavior, and the relationships between anatomical and behavioral changes that occurred during the past 200,000 years. Although modern humans as a species may be defined in terms of their skeletal anatomy, it is their behavior, and the social and cognitive structures that support that behavior, which most clearly distinguish Homo sapiens from earlier forms of humans. This book assembles researchers working in Eurasia and Africa to discuss the archaeological record of the Middle Paleolithic and the Middle Stone Age. This is a time period when Homo sapiens last shared the world with other species, and during which patterns of behavior characteristic of modern humans developed and coalesced. Contributions to this volume query and challenge some current notions about the tempo and mode of cultural evolution, and about the processes that underlie the emergence of modern behavior. The papers focus on several fundamental questions. Do typical elements of "modern human behavior" appear suddenly, or are there earlier archaeological precursors of them? Are the archaeological records of the Middle Paleolithic and Middle Stone Age unchanging and monotonous, or are there detectable evolutionary trends within these periods? Coming to diverse conclusions, the papers in this volume open up new avenues to thinking about this crucial interval in human evolutionary history.