Dynamics of Learning in Neanderthals and Modern Humans Volume 1

This volume presents the first of two proceedings from the International Conference on the Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans, which took place in Tokyo in November 2012. Focussing on a highly innovative working hypothesis called the 'learning hypothesis', which attempts to explain the replacement as a result of differences in the learning abilities of these two hominid populations, the conference served as the latest multidisciplinary discussion forum on this intriguing Palaeoanthropological issue. The present volume reports on outcomes of the conference in three major sections. Part 1 provides an archaeological overview of the processes of replacement/assimilation of Neanderthals by modern humans. Part 2 consists of archaeological and ethnographic case studies exploring evidence of learning behaviours in prehistoric and modern hunter-gatherer societies. Part 3 presents a collection of papers that directly contributes to the definition, validation and testing of the learninghypothesis in terms of population biology and evolutionary theory. A total of 18 papers in this volume make available to readers unique cultural perspectives on mechanisms of the replacement/assimilation of Neanderthals by modern humans and suggested relationships between these mechanisms and different learning strategies.

The latest overview of the replacement/assimilation processes of Neanderthals by modern humans

Introduction.- Neanderthals and Modern Humans across Eurasia.- Neanderthal-Modern Human Contact in Western Eurasia: Issues of Dating, Taxonomy, and Cultural Associations.- Issues of Chronological and Geographical Distributions of Middle and Upper Palaeolithic Cultural Variability in the Levant and Implications for the Learning Behavior of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.- The Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition in Siberia: Three Regional Sketches for Replacement.- Cultural Transmission, Institutional Continuity and the Persistence of the Mousterian.- Cultural and Biological Transformations in the Middle Pleistocene Levant: A View from Qesem Cave, Israel.- Evolutionary Development of Learning and Teaching Strategies in Human Societies.- Using Lithic Refitting to Investigate the Skill Learning Process: Lessons from Upper Paleolithic Assemblages from the Shirataki Sites in Hokkaido, Northern Japan.- "Gifting" as a Means of Cultural Transmission: The Archaeological Implications of Bow-and-Arrow Technology in Papua New Guinea.- "Ekeloko": The Spirit to Create -Innovation and Social Learning among Aka Adolescents of the Central African Rainforest.- Determinants of Cultural Evolutionary Rates.- Exploring Cultural Niche Construction from the Paleolithic to Modern Hunter-Gatherers.- The Effects of Cross-Boundary Rituals on Cultural Innovation.- A Simulation Study on the Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans in Europe: Implications of Climate Change, Cultural Diversification, and the Shape of the Continent.- Cultural Evolution and Learning Strategies in Hominids.- A Mathematical Model of Cultural Interactions between Modern and Archaic Humans.- A Perspective on Evolutionary Models of Learning Strategies.