Early Evolution of Human Memory : Great Apes, Tool-making, and Cognition

161 Pages·2017·2.54 MB·English

by  Héctor M. Manrique

EARLY EVOLUTION
OF HUMAN MEMORY
Great Apes,
Tool-making,
and Cognition
Héctor M. Manrique
Michael J. Walker
Early Evolution of Human Memory
Héctor M. Manrique · Michael J. Walker
Early Evolution
of Human Memory
Great Apes, Tool-making, and Cognition
Héctor M. Manrique Michael J. Walker
Departamento de Psicología Faculty of Biology
y Sociología University of Murcia
Universidad de Zaragoza Murcia, Spain
Zaragoza, Spain
ISBN 978-3-319-64446-2 ISBN 978-3-319-64447-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-64447-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017949462
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights
of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction
on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and
information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication.
Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied,
with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have
been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published
maps and institutional affiliations.
Cover illustration: © Stephen Bonk/Fotolia.co.uk
Printed on acid-free paper
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature
The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
In Memoriam to Andrés y Carmen, the most inspiring and loving parents.
And to Matías, the brightest of nephews.
H.M. Manrique
To Dr. Joaquin Fuster, for his pioneering research into haptic memory.
Michael Walker
C
ontents
1 What This Book Is About 1
Bibliography 9
2 Tool-Use by Great Apes in the Wild 11
Bibliography 16
3 Great Apes, Tools, and Cognition 21
3.1 Recognition of Functional Properties of Tools 21
3.2 Deferred Gratification 23
3.3 Working Memory 26
3.4 Limits to Tool Use, Tool-Making, Planning,
and Foresight in Great Apes 31
3.5 Blending Reality Among Different Potential Spheres 41
Bibliography 56
4 Early Tool-Making and the Evolution of Human
Memory Systems in the Brain 61
4.1 A Thumbnail Sketch of Some Early Paleolithic
Technological Developments 62
4.2 Remembering Alternative Combinations and the
Evolution of Human Behavior 67
4.3 Remembering Touch and Manipulation 76
vii
viii CONTENTS
4.4 Enhancement of Memory Evolved from a Neuronal
Propensity in Early Homo Brains Which Favored
Keeping Memory up to Date 87
4.5 Implicit Procedural Long-Term Memory, Haptic
Memory, and Plio-Pleistocene Stone Artifacts 90
4.6 Early Stone-Artifact Forms, Behavior,
and Perspective-Taking 96
4.7 Prospective Memory 99
Bibliography 101
5 Concluding Remarks 121
5.1 Text 122
Bibliography 126
Glossary 131
Index 145
A A
bout the uthors
Héctor Marín Manrique (Born in Villarreal, Spain, 1976) is a
lecturer at the University of Zaragoza (Spain). In 1999, he graduated
with First Class Honours in Psychology from the public Universitat
Jaume I (at Castellón, Spain). In 2005, concluded his investigations into
the effects that ethanol metabolism exerts over behavior for which he
was awarded both the Ph.D. and the university Prize for Outstanding
Academic Achievement. In 2008, he moved to the Max Planck Institute
for Evolutionary Anthropology at Leipzig in Germany, where he joined
the Developmental and Comparative Psychology Department, directed
by Prof. Michael Tomasello, where he worked under direct supervision
of Dr. Josep Call and had the opportunity to work with the four species
of great ape.
Michael Walker (Colchester, U.K., 1941) is Honorific Emeritus
Professor in the Department of Zoology and Physical Anthropology at
the University of Murcia in Spain, and directs field-work at Cueva Negra
del Estrecho del Río Quípar (Caravaca, Murcia) and Sima de las Palomas
del Cabezo Gordo (Torre Pacheco, Murcia). He studied at University
College, Oxford, graduated in Animal Physiology and Medicine, took
the Postgraduate Diploma in Prehistoric Archaeology with Distinction
and gained his D.Phil. for research in S.E. Spanish prehistory and pal-
aeoanthropology. Following, a junior research fellowship at The Queen’s
College, Oxford, he lectured at the universities of Edinburgh and Sydney
ix
x ABOUT THE AUTHORS
before being appointed in 1988 to establish Physical Anthropology
at the University of Murcia. He is the author of Palaeolithic Pioneers
(Archaeopress, Oxford, 2017) and with Erik Trinkaus of the Washington
University of St. Louis has co-edited The People of Palomas, Neandertals
from the Sima de las Palomas del Cabezo Gordo, Southeastern Spain
(Texas A&M University Press, 2017).
A
bbreviAtions
“Ma” ( million years ago; Ma is an official scientific abbreviation
=
designated by the International Union of Geological Sciences)
“e.g.” ( for example, for instance)
=
“i.e.” ( that is to say, in other words)
=
“et al.” ( and others, and colleagues)
=
“and refs.” ( and see bibliographical references contained therein)
=
“cf.” ( see also; compare with)
=
“p.” ( page)
=
“pp.” ( pages)
=
“etc.” ( and so on)
=
“%” ( per cent)
=
“ms” ( millisecond)
=
“cm” ( centimeter)
=
xi