Making Friends, Making Tools, Making Symbols.

Introduction

In the past the steps toward the human mind were seen as unitary

Recent research by Clayton, Bussy, and Dickson (2003); Slocombe and Zuberbuhler (2006); and Tomasello, Carpenter, Call, Behe, and Mull (2005) are just some that call this into question.

It is safe to assume our hominin ancestors built upon rudimentary capacities and incrementally became homo sapiens.

The Debate

Stringer and Gamble portrays symbolism as unitary (all or nothing). One day nothing existed and then BAM! Suddenly we have symbolism.

Bar-Yosef and Wadley disagree. They portray symbolism as emergent, developing as time moved on

Peirce’s progressive stages of referential thinking aid support to Bar-Yosef and Wadley’s position.

Peirce’s Three Progressive Stages Revisited.

Iconic: bears a perceptual or physical resemblance to things they signify (a round pebble signifying a soccer ball)

Indexical: associate to what they symbolize by temporal or spatial means (weather vane as wind)

Symbolic: the relationship is arbitrary (eagle headed man statue as statue and shaman/spiritual figure)

Symbolic ReferentsDeacons work elaborates on how indexical referents build upon iconic ones and symbolic referents from indexical ones. Neuroscience studies show that extensive “brain power” is required for symbolic function.Also a broad network of structures is necessary for the acquisition of symbolic function.A broad network of structures are necessary for the acquisition of symbolic function (inferior temporal cortex and the DLPFC)

Symbolic Formation

In the Peircian context, symbols do not appear ex nihilo (out of nothing)

Iconic and indexical symbols provide a basis explaining Bar-Yosef’s “low-level” symbolism and Wadley’s varying degrees of “symbolic complexity”

This raises the possibility that the human mind was preceded by hominin minds capable of lesser forms of referential thinking.

Iconic Artifacts

Iconic ArtifactsEvidence of red ochre and other pigments as far back as 300,000ybpBarham (2000, 2002) had unearthed over 300 pieces dating as far back as 270,000ybp and argues that the wide variety argues against purely practical use.Pigments were transported from remote sites and show evidence of modificationEvidence from Knight, Power, Watts (1995) found not only practical but symbolic use.

Iconic Artifact UsesKuhn & Stiner (2007) state this use of pigments was probably to enhance or alter appearance making the user more dramatic, impressive, or intimidating. Knight et. al. (1995) proposed that red ochre could have also signified menstrual blood and the fertility associated with itThe both agree the meaning is tied to the perceptual appearance (it or what it enhances) acting as an iconic referent.

Other Iconic Artifacts

The Makapansgat jasper cobblestone and the Berekhat Ram figurine.

Both were seen to be intentionally modified

More Recent Examples

Tsodilo Snake Rock

Indexical Referents

Indexical ArtifactsBeads and body ornamentation may fit as early indexical referentsEvidence is seen in 13 ostrich egg shell beads from Enkapune Ya Muto, Kenya from 40,000ybpRecent finds have uncovered shell beads that date over 75,000ybp Even older beads (100-135,000ybp) were found at the Skhul site in Isreal and Oued Djebbana, Algeria. (they were transported from distant coastal regions)

Hxaro (schwar-o)

Hxaro is the custom amongst the Kalahari San to create partnerships between peoples, as most live great distances apart.

Rossano states this transport to other locations may have been facilitated by gift giving

Amongst the !Kung hunter gatherers, beads such as these are often used as gifts reinforcing relationships among different groups of people.

True ValueThe value of these beads came from what they represented when worn.Beads from Blombos were threaded for use as a necklace or bracelet and some were stained with red ochre. This showed intention for use as body adornment.Gamble states it was about identity. They showed social status, family connections, and resource holdings.

Intertribal StatusVanhaeren & d’Errico found that roughly contemporaneous grave sites with differences in source materials and manufacturing style are found.The shows what seems to be careful markers differentiating one group from anotherCertain tribes were identified by their beads, others would be used for status recognition.An abundance of beads would indicate a rich network of friends and allies

Iconic to IndexicalLevels of reference can overlap at higher levels

This is a natural mechanism for the evolution of sophisticated systems of reference.

A ritual where red is displayed during hunting (stabbing, bleeding)

Non-human primates can not respond to references to remote to connect (blood drips and tracks for hunting)

Our hominin ancestors connected these perceptual cues with increasingly remote spatial and temporal events to create indexical referents.

It is possible that through not only an increasingly complex social life and complex tool manufacture that our ancestors moved from iconic to high levels of indexical thought.

Social Selection PressuresThe earliest pressures for indexical thoughts were probably social.Nowell discusses how life history factors changed among later H. erectus infancts as their childhoods were extended & they were born in increasingly altricial states.Some degree of male provisioning becomes necessary, however this requires a shift from multi-male/multi-female society to one with more parental certainty.

Social Selection Cont.

How does one erectus make sure that they are provisioning for their own children.

Deacon (1997) believes that the solution was the creation of a pair-bonding ritual.

This supports the idea H. erectus could read more remotely displaces signs related to more value

Tool Making and Indexical Thinking

If the social pressures became evident later, they would only barely precede pressures associated with tool-making.

Wadley and Ambrose date composite tool making as far back as 300,000ybp.

It makes special demands on cognitive systems and an advantage comes with those who can read signs emerging through the process to determine future viability

Handaxes and Indexical ThoughtLate Acheulean handaxes (500,000ybp) may show important cognitive advanceStudies show tool also took a high degree of skill.Some state the later state of the tool can be explained to resource availability and sharpeningKohn suggests they may have served as an important function in mate selection.

Handaxes Cont.This predicts that tool construction demand and social pressures acted as mechanisms during hominin referent advancement.They are even seen in beads and ornamentation in the Neanderthals.This shows unique pressures for homo sapiens pushing us toward symbolic thought (through complex social lives.)

Emergence of SymbolismMany Upper Paleolithic homo sapiens art not only contains iconic or indexical elements but culturally defined ones.

The Big MoveThis places an enormous demand on memory capacity.Deacon adds it requires a predisposition to deal with difficult associative relationships and maintain items under distractive situations.Klien states human cognition resulted from a fortuitous genetic mutation enhanced working memory capacityThis allowed us to better sustain attention on ongoing tasksCan also show a path for the emergence of symbolic reference from indexical.

Trade Networks

Our ancestors best able to track social relationships, build strategic alliances, and make critical judgments about both interactions and trustworthiness gained a fitness advantage.

A study found measures of social interaction as a reliable predictor of cognitive performance and that 10 min. of interaction boosted speed of processing and working memory performance

Trade Networks Cont.Evidence shows trade networks as far back as 70,000ybp.Evidence from the Howiesons Port and Mumba industries show non-local, microlithic artifacts showing an extensive trade network.Toba eruption 73,000ybp may have spurned thisEvidence is also seen in Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal hunting strategies though nearly the same, the Cro-Magnons had more extensive social networks.

Taxing of Mental Resources

Increased the frequency of novel, less predictable social/cognitive engagements.Forced understanding beyond a practical or utilitarian value.Expanded trade networks added high demands on communication skillsComplex social world added pressure on ritual behaviors.

Ritual Healing and Enhanced Working Memory

As the social world of early h. sapiens became more complex ritual behavior became increasingly more important to develop between-group alliances and maintain in-group relationships.

Under the stresses of resource scarcity, groups with more effective in and out group rituals experienced more selective success

Healing Power

Group rituals involving repetitive rhythmic ritual activity can induce health enhancing altered states of consciousness.

Found to be effective on many aliments.

McClenon (2002) and Rossano (2007) argue that rital healing was an important selective force in our evolutionary past.

HypnotizabilityThose who are more susceptible had an advantage in overcoming injury, disease, and easier childbirths.

The same brain areas (DLPFC & anterior cingulate) are important for walking memory

And the Gregarious Shall Inherit the Earth

100,000 ybp Neanderthals ran h. sapiens out of Europe.70,000 ybp the population bottleneck associated with ecological degradation and a population expansion in Africa occurred.The ecological degradation forced expansion of social networksSoon after a more socially sophisticated h. sapiens emerged and spread across the world.It was through trade networks and ritual behavior that working memory was expanded and flourished as a successful trait, giving us grater fitness over all other species of the world