From Tools to Symbols: From Early Hominids to Modern Humans

A number of researchers have tried to characterise the anatomy and behavioural systems of early hominid and early modern human populations in an attempt to understand how we became what we are. Can archaeology, palaeo-anthropology and genetics tell us how and when human cultures developed the traits that make our societies different from those of our closest living relatives? In which cases are these differences substantial, and when do they simply reflect our definitions of culture, species, the image we have of their evolution or of ourselves? From Tools to Symbols, a collection of twenty-seven selected papers from a South African-French conference organised in honour of the well-known palaeo-anthropologist Phillip Tobias, provides a multidisciplinary overview of this field of study. It is based on collaborative research conducted in sub-Saharan Africa by South African, French, American and German scholars in the last twenty years, and represents an excellent synthesis of the palaeontological and archaeological evidence of the last five million years of human evolution.

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Frontmatter
pp i-iv
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Contents
pp v-viii
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Acknowledgements
pp ix-x
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Profile of Professor Tobias
pp xi-xiv
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List of participants
pp xv-xxii
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Foreword
pp xxiii-xxvi
- By Justice Edwin Cameron, Supreme Court of Appeal Chairperson of Council, University of the Witwatersrand
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Address
pp xxvii-xxx
- By Bernard Malauzat
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Keynote address
pp xxxi-xxxii
- By Phillip V. Tobias
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Searching for common ground in palaeoanthropology, archaeology and genetics
pp 1-8
- By Francesco d'Errico, Lucinda R. Backwell
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The history of a special relationship: prehistoric terminology and lithic technology between the French and South African research traditions
pp 9-37
- By Nathan Schlanger, Archives of European Archaeology (AREA) Institut national d'histoire de l'art, 2, rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris, France
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Essential attributes of any technologically competent animal
pp 38-51
- By Charles K. Brain, Curator Emeritus at the Transvaal Museum, Northern Flagship Institution, Paul Kruger Street, P.O. Box 413, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
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Significant tools and signifying monkeys: the question of body techniques and elementary actions on matter among apes and early hominids
pp 52-81
- By Frédéric Joulian, Responsable du Programme de Recherches Interdisciplinaires ‘Evolution, Natures et Cultures’, SHADYC, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, 2 rue de la Vieille Charité, 13002 Marseille, France
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Tools and brains: which came first?
pp 82-102
- By Phillip V. Tobias, Department of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Medical School, 7 York Road, Parktown 2193, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Environmental changes and hominid evolution: what the vegetation tells us
pp 103-120
- By Marion K. Bamford, Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Implications of the presence of African ape-like teeth in the Miocene of Kenya
pp 121-133
- By Martin Pickford, Laboratoire de Paleontologie, UMR 8569 du CNRS, 8, rue Buffon, 75005, Paris College de France, 11, Place Marcellin Berthelot, 7505, Paris, France, Brigitte Senut, Département Histoire de la Terre, USM 0203, du Muséum National d'Histoire naturelle & UMR 5143, PICS 1048 (CNRS), Case 38, 57, rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France
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Dawn of hominids: understanding the ape-hominid dichotomy
pp 134-151
- By Brigitte Senut, Département Histoire de la Terre, USM 0203 du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle & UMR 5143, PICS 1048 (CNRS), Case 38, 57, rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
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The impact of new excavations from the Cradle of Humankind on our understanding of the evolution of hominins and their cultures
pp 152-162
- By Lee R. Berger, Institute for Human Evolution, School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Stone Age signatures in northernmost South Africa: early archaeology in the Mapungubwe National Park and vicinity
pp 163-182
- By Kathleen Kuman, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, Ryan Gibbon, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, Helen Kempson, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, Geeske Langejans, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, Joel Le Baron, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, Luca Pollarolo, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, Morris Sutton, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg
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Vertebral column, bipedalism and freedom of the hands
pp 183-197
- By Dominique Gommery, UPR 2147 du CNRS, 44 Rue de l'Amiral Mouchez, 75014 Paris, France
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Characterising early Homo: cladistic, morphological and metrical analyses of the original Plio-Pleistocene specimens
pp 198-228
- By Sandrine Prat, UPR 2147 du CNRS, 44 rue de l'Admiral Mouchez, 75014 Paris, France
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Early Homo, ‘robust’ australopithecines and stone tools at Kromdraai, South Africa
pp 229-237
- By Francis Thackeray, Transvaal Museum, P.O. Box 413, Pretoria 0001, South Africa, José Braga, Laboratoire d'Anthropologie, PACEA/UMR 5809 CNRS, Université Bordeaux 1, Avenue des Facultés, 33405 Talence Cedex, France
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The origin of bone tool technology and the identification of early hominid cultural traditions
pp 238-275
- By Lucinda Backwell, Institute for Human Evolution, School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa, Francesco d'Errico, UMR 5808 du CNRS, Institut de Préhistoire et de Géologie du Quaternaire, Avenue des Facultés, 33405 Talence, France
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Contribution of genetics to the study of human origins 276
pp 276-293
- By Himla Soodyall, MRC/NHLS/Wits Human Genomic Diversity and Disease Research Unit, National Health Laboratory Service and the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, Trefor Jenkins, MRC/NHLS/Wits Human Genomic Diversity and Disease Research Unit, National Health Laboratory Service and the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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An overview of the patterns of behavioural change in Africa and Eurasia during the Middle and Late Pleistocene
pp 294-332
- By Nicholas J. Conard, Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Abteilung Ältere Urgeschichte und Quartärökologie, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Schloss Hohentübingen, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
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From the tropics to the colder climates: contrasting faunal exploitation adaptations of modern humans and Neanderthals
pp 333-371
- By Curtis W. Marean, Institute of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, P.O. Box 872402, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402 USA
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New neighbours: interaction and image-making during the West European Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition
pp 372-388
- By David Lewis-Williams, Rock Art Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Late Mousterian lithic technology: its implications for the pace of the emergence of behavioural modernity and the relationship between behavioural modernity and biological modernity
pp 389-417
- By Marie Soressi, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany PACEA/UMR 5199 du CNRS, Institut de Préhistoire et de Géologie du Quaternaire, UFR de Géologie, Bat. B18, Avenue des Facultés 33405 Talence, France
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Exploring and quantifying technological differences between the MSA I, MSA II and Howieson's Poort at Klasies River
pp 418-440
- By Sarah Wurz, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa
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Stratigraphic integrity of the Middle Stone Age levels at Blombos Cave
pp 441-458
- By Christopher S. Henshilwood
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Testing and demonstrating the stratigraphic integrity of artefacts from MSA deposits at Blombos Cave, South Africa
pp 459-474
- By Zenobia Jacobs, Council for Science and Industrial Research (CSIR), P.O. Box 395, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
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From Tools to Symbols

From Early Hominids to Modern Humans

Book description

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv

Contents
pp v-viii

Acknowledgements
pp ix-x

Profile of Professor Tobias
pp xi-xiv

List of participants
pp xv-xxii

Foreword
pp xxiii-xxvi

Address
pp xxvii-xxx

Keynote address
pp xxxi-xxxii

Searching for common ground in palaeoanthropology, archaeology and genetics
pp 1-8

The history of a special relationship: prehistoric terminology and lithic technology between the French and South African research traditions
pp 9-37

Essential attributes of any technologically competent animal
pp 38-51

Significant tools and signifying monkeys: the question of body techniques and elementary actions on matter among apes and early hominids
pp 52-81

Tools and brains: which came first?
pp 82-102

Environmental changes and hominid evolution: what the vegetation tells us
pp 103-120

Implications of the presence of African ape-like teeth in the Miocene of Kenya
pp 121-133

Dawn of hominids: understanding the ape-hominid dichotomy
pp 134-151

The impact of new excavations from the Cradle of Humankind on our understanding of the evolution of hominins and their cultures
pp 152-162

Stone Age signatures in northernmost South Africa: early archaeology in the Mapungubwe National Park and vicinity
pp 163-182

Vertebral column, bipedalism and freedom of the hands
pp 183-197

Characterising early Homo: cladistic, morphological and metrical analyses of the original Plio-Pleistocene specimens
pp 198-228

Early Homo, ‘robust’ australopithecines and stone tools at Kromdraai, South Africa
pp 229-237

The origin of bone tool technology and the identification of early hominid cultural traditions
pp 238-275

Contribution of genetics to the study of human origins 276
pp 276-293

An overview of the patterns of behavioural change in Africa and Eurasia during the Middle and Late Pleistocene
pp 294-332

From the tropics to the colder climates: contrasting faunal exploitation adaptations of modern humans and Neanderthals
pp 333-371

New neighbours: interaction and image-making during the West European Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition
pp 372-388

Late Mousterian lithic technology: its implications for the pace of the emergence of behavioural modernity and the relationship between behavioural modernity and biological modernity
pp 389-417

Exploring and quantifying technological differences between the MSA I, MSA II and Howieson's Poort at Klasies River
pp 418-440

Stratigraphic integrity of the Middle Stone Age levels at Blombos Cave
pp 441-458

Testing and demonstrating the stratigraphic integrity of artefacts from MSA deposits at Blombos Cave, South Africa
pp 459-474

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From Tools to Symbols

From Early Hominids to Modern Humans

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Contents

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