Edited by Christopher S. Henshilwood and Francesco d'Errico
[Not in series 168] 2011
► pp. 141–162
Chapter 8. The living as symbols, the dead as symbols
problematising the scale and pace of hominin symbolic evolution
The ‘symbolic capacity’ has come to be seen as a core trait of anatomically modern humans, and probably separates them cognitively and behaviourally from all other hominins. While archaeologists agree on what aspects of the archaeological record constitute evidence of symbolism, such as burials, use of pigments, and personal ornamentation, only generic concepts of ‘symbolism’ are invoked from these, resulting in a simplistic discourse about its origins. I try to problematise the concept of symbolism, using these archaeological categories, breaking each down into differing levels of symbolic sophistication. Following this, I try to link these to Dunbar’s levels of intention, and explore how one might identify these from the archaeological record. I conclude by making a necessarily coarse comparison of Neandertals and modern humans in terms of the expression of these characteristics.
https://doi.org/10.1075/z.168.08pet
Cited by
Cited by 9 other publications
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 07 february 2023. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.