What Does it Mean toWhat Does it Mean to be Human?be Human?8 March 2012British AcademyBritish Academy

Steven MithenSteven Mithen

Professor of Early Prehistory,Pro Vice ChancellorPro Vice Chancellor

University of Reading

s.j.mithen@reading.ac.ukj g

What Does it Mean toWhat Does it Mean to be Human?be Human?

• There are cultural and biological dimensions of being human, which aredimensions of being human, which are not easily disassociated

• There many different ways of being• There many different ways of being human

• The archaeological record is especially valuable in demonstrating such diversity

What did it mean to be human at Banteay Srei inhuman at Banteay Srei in

10th century?

Mithen, S. 2012 Thirst: Water &Thirst: Water &

Power in the Ancient World

What did it mean to be human at the Neolithic

community of WF16community of WF16 11,500 years ago?

What did it mean to be human at Storakaig, Isle of Islay,

Scotland 6000 years ago?Scotland, 6000 years ago?

What did it mean to be human … 

… in Chauvet Cave, 36,000 years ago?

or in Blombos Cave, 70,000 years ago?, y g , y g

What it means to be a modern human is dependent upon socialhuman is dependent upon social, economic, historical and cultural context

Shared features are likely  to include:

• Compositional language

• Self consciousness

• Metaphorical thought

• Cognitive fluidityCognitive fluidity

• Group identity, action and selection

• Technical skill  in material culture

• Extended mind via material cultureExtended mind via material culture

• Compositional languageCompositional language

• Self consciousness

• Metaphorical thoughtMetaphorical thought

• Cognitive fluidity

• Group identity action• Group identity, action and selection

• Technical skill in materialTechnical skill  in material culture

• Extended mind via material culture

These are absent  in any significant extent from our closest living relatives

H. sapiens0

Millions of years ago But there are other 

types of humansH.neanderthalensis

H.helmei

0

0.25 H. floresiensis

types of humans

Paranthropus spp.H.ergaster

H. erectus

H.heidelbergensis

0.5

A africanus

H. rudolfensisH.habilis

gH.heidelbergensis

1.0

2 0 A. africanus2.0

3.0 African apes

A ramidusA.anamensis

A. afarensis

4.0

apes

A. ramidus5.0

6 06.0

COMMON ANCESTOR

What did it mean to be a Homo habilis type of human, 2.0 million years ago?of human, 2.0 million years ago?

What did it mean to be a Homo neanderthalensis type of 

human between 350,000 and 40,000 years ago?

Neanderthals:Neanderthals:

• Large brains

• Social complexitySocial complexity

• Ecological flexibility

• Technical skill

• Static material culture

• Absence of representational art, and most likely art of any kind

Different ways of being human

Homo neanderthaensis Homo sapiens

Steven Mithen, 1996. The Prehistory of the Mind

Technical Intelligence

Natural History Intelligence

General Intelligence

General intelligence

Social Intelligence

Neanderthals: domain-specific mentality Modern Humans: cognitively fluid mentality

Steven Mithen, 2005. The Singing Neanderthals

Neanderthals: Holistic communication Modern Humans: Compositional language

What Does it Mean to beWhat Does it Mean to be Human?

Set of shared features of all modern humans• Compositional language

S lf i• Self consciousness

• Metaphorical thought

• Cognitive fluidityg y

• Group identity, action and selection

• Technical skill  in material culture

• Extended mind via material culture

Resultant cultural diversity is immense and resultsResultant cultural diversity is immense and results in profoundly different experiences of being human

The meaning of being human depends upon what type of human we are concerned with