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A tale of two species: constructing chronologies for patterns of change in the behaviour of Neanderthals and early modern humans

Grant


Scheme

  • Discovery Projects

Abstract

  • This project will yield critical new insights into the question of when significant changes in human intelligence developed. No consensus exists about what the cognitive abilities were of Neanderthals, nor whether the emergence of modern human anatomy is related to the origins of complex behaviour. We will use optical dating to construct a highly resolved calibrated timescale for the period 160 to 50 thousand years ago for archaeological assemblages associated with Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens in France, Morocco and South Africa. This will facilitate direct comparisons of the behaviour of two human species in discrete geographic regions, and thereby test current models for the origins and development of behavioural complexity.

Date/time Interval

  • 2010

Sponsor Award Id

  • DP1092843

Local Award Id

  • 10936

Scheme

  • Discovery Projects

Abstract

  • This project will yield critical new insights into the question of when significant changes in human intelligence developed. No consensus exists about what the cognitive abilities were of Neanderthals, nor whether the emergence of modern human anatomy is related to the origins of complex behaviour. We will use optical dating to construct a highly resolved calibrated timescale for the period 160 to 50 thousand years ago for archaeological assemblages associated with Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens in France, Morocco and South Africa. This will facilitate direct comparisons of the behaviour of two human species in discrete geographic regions, and thereby test current models for the origins and development of behavioural complexity.

Date/time Interval

  • 2010

Sponsor Award Id

  • DP1092843

Local Award Id

  • 10936