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SUMMARY:In search of mechanisms: Ecological approaches to the evolution of
  hominin behaviour - Dr. Jonathan Reeves\, Max Planck Institute for Evolut
 ionary Anthropology
DTSTART:20240223T163000Z
DTEND:20240223T173000Z
UID:TALK211183@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Anna Mika
DESCRIPTION:Abstract:\n\nThe evolution of human behavior can be defined by
  the capacity to use tools to adapt and thrive in almost every environment
  on the planet. As a result\, understanding the evolution of this unique b
 ehavior is a central focus of human origins research. The earliest evidenc
 e of this form of tool use may extend back as earlier than 2.6 million yea
 rs ago when Plio-Pleistocene hominins began producing and transporting sim
 ple Oldowan cores and flakes. Albeit simple\, this form of tool use may be
  the basis for the adaptive success of the genus Homo by allowing hominins
  to technologically mediate their environmental circumstances. Despite its
  importance to human evolution\, the mechanisms that causally link behavio
 r\, and socio-ecological processes are seldom tested. The difficulty in do
 cumenting the evolutionary importance of tool use requires documenting the
  dynamic relationship between tool behaviors\, its socio-ecological contex
 t\, and how it creates measurable material patterns. However\, it also req
 uires understanding how such fine-grained interactions contribute to evolu
 tionary patterns that form over timescales greater than any single lifespa
 n. Here I will present integrative research designed to better understand 
 the role of tool use in shaping the evolution of hominin behavior. In doin
 g so\, this work engages in field studies of stone tools using wild primat
 es to elucidate the dynamics between tool use\, its broader socio-ecologic
 al context\, and the material patterns we study. Computational modeling is
  used to investigate these dynamics on more evolutionarily relevant time s
 cales and their relevance to hominin technology. The comparison between pr
 imate material culture and the hominin archaeological record is used to ge
 nerate hypotheses regarding hominin-environment interactions that can be t
 ested through archaeological fieldwork.
LOCATION:McDonald Institute Seminar Room\, Department of Archaeology
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