Podcasts about acheulean

Here is a simple story about the origins of the human brain: All primate brains are good at packing neurons into a small space—they are neural supercomputers. The human brain is just what you'd expect from a monkey of our size: big, packed with neurons, but no more special than that. It's the chimps and gorillas who are special: without cooked food, their brains stay oddly small.Or so argues Suzana Herculano-Houzel, my guest in last week's episode. In today's episode, paleo-neurologist Dean Falk argues that the story is stranger still.I'll let her tell you why.Enjoy!DIG DEEPERSee also last spring's episode with Dean Falk on toolmaking and childhoods, as part of the Origins of Humankind -series. SUPPORT THE SHOWOnHumans.Patreon.comMENTIONS AND KEYWORDSScholarsCharles Darwin | Dietrich Stout | Robin Dunbar | Katarina Semenderfi | Weiwei Men | Joseph Ledoux | Jane GoodallTechnical termsEndocasts | Sulci and gyri | Broca's area | Brodmann Area 10, also known as BA10 and the frontal pole | Acheulean hand axe technology KeywordsBrain science | Neuroscience | Neurology | Paleoneurology | Evolutionary Anthropology | Comparative Anatomy | Cognitive Archaeology | Origins of Consciousness

Chris and Courtney sit down with Dr. Thomas Wynn, the Hand Axe Man, AKA: CU Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Colorado. Colorado Springs, where he taught from 1977 until his retirement. Dr. Wynn specializes in the archaeology of the Lower Palaeolithic, led pioneering research in Tanzania, and introduced psychological theory—specifically Piagetian concepts—into Palaeolithic studies, laying the groundwork for evolutionary cognitive archaeology. Dr. Wynn has published over 100 papers and authored key books such as The Rise of Homo Sapiens (2009) and How to Think Like a Neandertal (2012), which he co-authored with Dr. Frederick Coolidge. In 2011, Wynn co-founded the UCCS Center for Cognitive Archaeology, offering online courses on human cognition's evolutionary development. His recent work includes curating First Sculpture, an exhibition on Acheulean handaxes and early aesthetics, which opened at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas in 2018. ------------------------------ Find the book discussed in this episode: Wynn, Thomas, and Frederick L. Coolidge. How to think like a Neanderthal. Oxford University Press, 2011. ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Wynn via e-mail: twynn@uccs.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey, Guest-Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: cpierce4@uccs.edu, Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Cristina Gildee, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu, Twitter:@CristinaGildee

Why are we furless? Why do we cook our food and use spoken language? And how does climate change, sashimi, or the banks of Central America relate to human origins?  Human evolution is a deeply puzzling topic. But behind this dense mist lies many keys to our self-understanding. To guide us through the foggy territory, I am joined by Dr Ian Tattersall, a curator emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History (New York). In this episode, Dr Tattersall and I discuss: (04.00) An ancient climate change (07:20) First humans (11:20) Fire (17:50) Fish (21:40) Rocks (24:00) Evolution vs Innovation (25:30) Brain growth (36:10) Children (39:50) Language (48:20) Why? As always, we finish with Dr Tattersall's reflections on humanity. LINKS Want to support the show? Checkout ⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠ Want to read and not just listen? Get the newsletter on ⁠OnHumans.Substack.com⁠ MENTIONS Names: Richard Wrangham (see ep. 21), Susan Schaller, Ildefonso, Jane Goodall, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Yuval Noah Harari  Books: Masters of the Planet (Tattersall), Man Without Words (Schaller), Sapiens (Harari) Technical terms: Oldowan tool culture (first stone tools, c. 2.5 million years ago), Acheulean hand axe (first major update in stone tools, c. 1.6 million years ago) Fossils: Lucy (3.2 million years old); Turkana Boy (aka. Nariokotome Boy, 1.6 million years old) Hominin species: Australopithecines, Homo ergaster, Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo neanderthalensis, Homo sapiens A note on hominin taxonomy: Homo habilis was traditionally considered the first human and the first maker of stone tools. Dr Tattersall is among the many critics of this old idea. According to him and many others, there is no separate tool-making species called Homo habilis. Rather, Australopithecines started making stone tools without any change in the biology of the species. Also, it is worth noting that Dr Tattersall rejects the traditional view which gives a big role for Homo erectus in the human story. In this traditional view, Turkana Boy's species, Homo ergaster, is called an African Homo erectus. Dr Tattersall and many others argue that this is a historic hangover with little basis in the biological evidence.

2023 was another exciting year in human origins research! Fossil discoveries and long-term primate studies expanded our understanding of what makes us human. In this episode, four Leakey Foundation scientists shared their favorite human evolution discoveries from the past year. Help us make more episodes! All tax-deductible donations to Origin Stories will be quadruple-matched! >>>> Please click here to make a one-time or monthly donation.  Guests Briana Pobiner Emma Finestone Nasser Malit  Risa Luther Links to learn more Hunting and processing of straight-tusked elephants 125,000 years ago: Implications for Neanderthal behavior (open-access research paper) Neanderthals lived in groups big enough to eat giant elephants Evidence for the earliest structural use of wood at least 476,000 years ago (open-access research paper Early Homo erectus lived at high altitudes and produced both Oldowan and Acheulean tools (open-access research paper) The surprising toolbox of the early Homo erectus Demographic and hormonal evidence for menopause in wild chimpanzees (open-access research paper) Wild chimpanzees experience menopause Chimpanzee menopause revealed ft. Melissa Emery Thompson (Lunch Break Science on YouTube) Sponsors and credits Origin Stories is sponsored by Jeanne Newman, the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation,  and the Joan and Arnold Travis Education Fund.  Origin Stories is produced by Ray Pang. Our editor is Audrey Quinn. Theme music by Henry Nagle. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Lee Roservere.

News items read by Laura Kennedy include: Ming dynasty stone grenades found in Great Wall dig (details) Mexico releases statement about huge painted stone snake head (details) Odd rock in medieval French painting is million-year-old Acheulean hand axe (details) Technology helped Saharan kingdom tap an underground aquifer (details)

Sick burn, breh--This week, Anna and Amber tackle the origins of fire use in the hominin archaeological record. We've taken a journalistic approach, so we've got What Fire, Where and When Fire, Why Fire, Who Fire, and How Fire. Plus, how do archaeologists look for evidence of fires that happened up to a million years ago? Amber also shares some Big Life Updates! To learn more: Microstratigraphic evidence of in situ fire in the Acheulean strata of Wonderwerk Cave, Northern Cape province, South Africa (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)When Did Early Humans Start Using Fire? To Find Answers, Scientists Enlist Artificial Intelligence (Smithsonian)Hidden signatures of early fire at Evron Quarry (1.0 to 0.8 Mya) (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)Fire Use (Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Anthropology)The Earliest Example of Hominid Fire (Smithsonian)Sparking controversy, or putting out the fire? (Nature Ecology & Evolution Community)Arsonist falcons suggest birds discovered fire before humans did (New Scientist)Phylogenetic rate shifts in feeding time during the evolution of Homo (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)Experimental Approaches to Archaeological Fire Features and Their Behavioral Relevance (Current Anthropology)Selection and Use of Manganese Dioxide by Neanderthals (Nature Scientific Reports)Fire Plow: Tips and Tricks (Fire and Fungi on YouTube)Bow Drill Friction Fire (Donny Dust on YouTube)

What makes the human mind unique? How do we know there's a future, and how do we recall the past? In this episode of This Anthro Life, Byron Reese, serial entrepreneur, technologist, and author of “Stories, Dice, and Rocks That Think: How Humans Learned to See the Future--and Shape It,” discusses these questions and more with host Adam Gamwell. Together, Byron and Adam explore the three leaps in human history that made us what we are today and how those leaps changed how we think about the future, the past, and everything in between.Show Highlights:[03:16] The inception of “Stories, Dice, and Rocks That Think: How Humans Learned to See the Future--and Shape It”[05:23] Homo erectus and the Acheulean hand axe[06:38] How the Acheulean hand axe is a genetic object, not a cultural one[08:27] The awakening that ancient humans had undergone[09:27] Language as a means to conceptualize the future and gain knowledge of the past[13:02] The four things that all languages have[16:01] How humans' group action became more than just the sum of its parts[18:57] A superorganism named Agora as a metaphor for how people working together can get more done[24:06] How the probability theory helps us understand how we imagine the future[24:37] The probability problem[28:01] How there is predictability in randomness[34:33] The human body as a superorganism[36:30] The problem with data in artificial intelligence[41:48] Galton's regression to the mean and eugenics as a cautionary tale[44:59] Eternal vigilance as the price of current and future technological advancements[47:04] Why humans are not machines[50:05] The 21st purpose of telling stories, according to Byron[52:32] Closing statements

A continuation of the story of human evolution, examining some of the later species of Homo that coexisted throughout the ice ages. We look at the later developments of Homo erectus in Asia and meet Homo naledi. Then we focus on the Neanderthals and what we know about their lives, ending with a brief look at several mystery humans like the Denisovans.Transcript: https://riverofhistory.tumblr.com/post/183516695796/episode-8-lost-peoplesLinks and References Mentioned:Acheulean Artwork: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-think-neandertal/201504/the-handaxe-enigmaTrinil Shell: http://johnhawks.net/weblog/archaeology/lower/trinil-shell-engraving-2014.htmlGerman Bison Hunt: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298971814_The_oldest_hominin_butchery_in_European_mid-latitudes_at_the_Jaramillo_site_of_Untermassfeld_Thuringia_GermanyInvalidity of ‘Homo heidelbergensis’: https://nutcrackerman.com/2016/11/09/a-moment-of-silence-for-the-death-of-homo-heidelbergensis/“European phenomenon” by RichardKlein: from the chapter “Hominin Dispersals in the Old World” from The Human Past, Thames & Hudson(2018)Chinese & Korean neanderthals?:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004724840800050X& https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248499903901Neanderthal Skin, Hair, & Eyecolor: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2012/03/were-some-neandertals-brown-eyed-girlsNeanderthal Spear-throwing: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/neanderthal-spears-threw-pretty-well/581218/Neanderthal Boats?: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/04/neandertals-stone-age-people-may-have-voyaged-mediterraneanPossible Artwork by Neanderthals: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-02357-8Candace Alcorta & RichardSosis, religions: https://richard-sosis.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2243/2018/08/2005-Sosis-Special-Issue-on-Religion.pdfDenisovan Skull piece: https://www.sapiens.org/evolution/denisovan-skull-found/

A continuation of the story of human evolution, examining some of the later species of Homo that coexisted throughout the ice ages. We look at the later developments of Homo erectus in Asia and meet Homo naledi. Then we focus on the Neanderthals and what we know about their lives, ending with a brief look at several mystery humans like the Denisovans.Transcript: https://riverofhistory.tumblr.com/post/183516695796/episode-8-lost-peoplesLinks and References Mentioned:Acheulean Artwork: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-think-neandertal/201504/the-handaxe-enigmaTrinil Shell: http://johnhawks.net/weblog/archaeology/lower/trinil-shell-engraving-2014.htmlGerman Bison Hunt: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298971814_The_oldest_hominin_butchery_in_European_mid-latitudes_at_the_Jaramillo_site_of_Untermassfeld_Thuringia_GermanyInvalidity of ‘Homo heidelbergensis’: https://nutcrackerman.com/2016/11/09/a-moment-of-silence-for-the-death-of-homo-heidelbergensis/“European phenomenon” by Richard Klein: from the chapter “Hominin Dispersals in the Old World” from The Human Past, Thames & Hudson (2018)Chinese & Korean neanderthals?: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004724840800050X & https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248499903901Neanderthal Skin, Hair, & Eye color: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2012/03/were-some-neandertals-brown-eyed-girlsNeanderthal Spear-throwing: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/neanderthal-spears-threw-pretty-well/581218/Neanderthal Boats?: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/04/neandertals-stone-age-people-may-have-voyaged-mediterraneanPossible Artwork by Neanderthals: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-02357-8Candace Alcorta & Richard Sosis, religions: https://richard-sosis.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2243/2018/08/2005-Sosis-Special-Issue-on-Religion.pdfDenisovan Skull piece: https://www.sapiens.org/evolution/denisovan-skull-found/ Possible Chinese Denisovans: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/ancient-skulls-may-belong-elusive-humans-called-denisovans

Imagine if we could find the secret to romance and love, the real secret, one vetted by science. Wouldn’t that be … well, what would that be. According to Anna Machin, an anthropologist who actually does study romance, it would be disheartening. “I don’t want to find the formula for love,” she tells interviewer Dave Edmonds in the latest Social Science Bites podcast. “I think that would be incredibly depressing.” But Machin, a professor at the University of Oxford and part of an experimental psychology research group run by another Social Science Bites alumnus, Robin Dunbar, is nonetheless fascinated by how evolution has created this thing we call love, using the tools of neurochemistry and qualitative social science. Her research ranges from “our primate cousins” to popular dating sites. And before you insert your own joke here, know that these two examples have more in common than you might think. Distinct primate-centric patterns quickly emerge in dating site profiles, Machin explains. For men, it’s displaying their value – their status, resources and good genes. For women, it’s their fertility, including youth, and good genes – regardless of their own wealth or status. Not, she cautions, that we’re exactly like the rest of the menagerie. “The relationships we build, the reproductive relationships, our romantic relationships, are categorically different to those in other animals,” she says. “They persist for much longer, the cognition involved is much more complex,” and the neurochemistry doesn’t explain how we can stick together for such an incredibly long period of time. Machin’s own academic background is varied, beginning with bachelor’s work in anthropology and English and leading to a PhD, in Archaeology, from the University of Reading (her thesis was on Acheulean handaxes). As an academic, she delights in explaining her work to the public, an avocation that has including working with the TV show Married at First Sight, where she’s used her own scholarship to help participants find life partners.

SynTalk thinks about the role of geography, ecology, biology & human behaviour behind history (both facts & principles). Did environmentally destructed land (like grasslands) lead to invasions? We discuss diverse phenomena such as invasions, climactic changes, agriculture, and burial rituals. Is genetics shaping and changing our collective perception of the past, and is there synchronicity in evolution? The concepts are derived off / from biology (Founder Effect, human genome sequence, single locus polymorphism, dispersal), history (Aryanisation), archaeology (Acheulean, Quaternary, Harappa, Chinese oracle bones), mythology (Vishnu Puranas, Kartikeya), geology (tectonic shift, Lonar Lake, ice-age) & ecology (Tundra, co-adaption), among others. Could the burial of a dead body have changed history and lead to the birth of art? What happened ~200,000 years ago, & how did modern humans evolve ~40,000 years ago? Why does mythology posit something impossible and then we try and make sense of it? We marvel at the link between cows, mango leaves, vitamin B, Indian yellow, ‘Pitambara’, frescoes, & heritage. How does some tribal marriage ritual involve ‘sunglasses’? Why don’t all modern humans produce art? The SynTalkrs are: Prof. Sheila Mishra (archaeology, Deccan College, Pune), Aman Nath (history, architecture, restoration, art, Neemrana Hotels, New Delhi), Anupam Sah (heritage conservation, CSMVS Museum Art Conservation Centre, Mumbai) & Prof. Milind Watve (evolutionary biology, IISER, Pune)