?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Mind&rft.creator=Gabora%2C+Dr.++Liane+M.+&rft.subject=Behavioral+Biology&rft.subject=Complexity+Theory&rft.subject=Evolutionary+Psychology&rft.description=What+can+relics+of+the+past+tell+us+about+the+thoughts+and+beliefs+of+the+people+who+invented+and+used+them%3F+Recent+collaborations+at+the+frontier+of+archaeology%2C+anthropology%2C+and+cognitive+science+are+culminating+in+speculative+but+nevertheless+increasingly+sophisticated+efforts+to+unravel+how+modern+human+cognition+came+about.+By+considering+objects+within+their+archaeological+context%2C+we+have+begun+to+piece+together+something+of+the+way+of+life+of+people+who+inhabited+particular+locales%2C+which+in+turn+reflects+their+underlying+thought+processes.%0D%0A+%0D%0AComparing+data+between+different+sites+or+time+periods+tells+us+something+about+the+horizontal+(within+generation)+or+vertical+(between+generations)+transmission+of+material+culture.+In+addition+to+patterns+of+transmission+of+existing+kinds+of+artifacts%2C+we+are+also+interested+in+novel+artifacts+that+might+be+indicative+of+new+cognitive+abilities%2C+belief+structures%2C+or+levels+of+cooperation.+An+archaeological+period+marked+by+the+sudden+appearance+of+many+kinds+of+new+objects+may+suggest+the+onset+of+enhanced+creative+abilities.+By+corroborating+archaeological+findings+with+anthropological+data+(evidence+of+sudden+change+in+the+size+or+shape+of+the+cranium%2C+for+example)+with+knowledge+from+cognitive+science+about+how+minds+function%2C+we+can+make+educated+guesses+as+to+what+kinds+of+underlying+cognitive+changes+could+be+involved%2C+and+how+the+unique+abilities+of+Homo+sapiens+arose.%0D%0A+%0D%0AIn+this+chapter%2C+we+consider+three+questions+about+human+cognition+that+can+be+addressed+through+archaeological+data%3A+(1)+How+did+human+culture+begin%3F+(2)+Where%2C+when%2C+and+how+did+humans+acquire+the+unique+cognitive+abilities+of+modern+Homo+sapiens%3F+and+(3)+What+role+do+artifacts+play+in+the+evolution+of+these+cognitive+abilities%3F&rft.publisher=Altamira+Press&rft.contributor=Bentley%2C+Dr.++R.+A.+&rft.contributor=Maschner%2C+Dr.++H.+D.+G.&rft.contributor=Chippendale%2C+Dr.++C.+&rft.date=2007&rft.type=Book+Chapter&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=text%2Fhtml&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F5960%2F1%2Fhtma-mind.htm&rft.identifier=++Gabora%2C+Dr.+Liane+M.+++(2007)+Mind.++%5BBook+Chapter%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F5960%2F