Chapter 9. Homo heidelbergensis and the Beginnings of Modern Thinking

  1. Frederick L. Coolidge,
  2. Thomas Wynn

Published Online: 30 MAR 2009

DOI: 10.1002/9781444308297.ch9

Book Title

The Rise of The Evolution of Modern Thinking

The Rise of The Evolution of Modern Thinking

Additional Information

How to Cite

Coolidge, F. L. and Wynn, T. (2009) Homo heidelbergensis and the Beginnings of Modern Thinking, in The Rise of The Evolution of Modern Thinking, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK. doi: 10.1002/9781444308297.ch9

Publication History

  1. Published Online: 30 MAR 2009
  2. Published Print: 27 MAR 2009

ISBN Information

Print ISBN: 9781405152532

Online ISBN: 9781444308297

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CHAPTER TOOLS

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Keywords:

  • Homo heidelbergensis and modern thinking;
  • evolutionary fate ofHomo erectus - adapting quickly to environments hitherto unoccupied by hominins;
  • Pleistocene climate change;
  • Milankovitch cycles effective in producing climate change;
  • stasis - macro-evolutionary term to periods of little evolutionary change within a lineage;
  • middle Pleistocene archeology and “bent” cleaver from Isimila in Tanzania;
  • non-lithic technology;
  • non-utilitarian technology - modern human culture immersed in symbols of all kinds;
  • cognition at 400,000 years ago - Homo heidelbergensis and spatial abilities not used by earlier Homo erectus;
  • Homo heidelbergensis - form of grammatical language from paleoanthropological record

Summary

This chapter contains sections titled:

  • The Evolutionary Fate of Homo erectus

  • Pleistocene Climate Change

  • Stasis or Change?

  • Middle Pleistocene Archeology

  • Cognition at 400,000 Years Ago

  • Conclusion: Puzzles and Pictures

  • The Jigsaw Puzzle

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