Pain, Ross (2024) Cognitive Archaeology Meets Cultural Evolutionary Psychology. pp. 1149-1168.
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Abstract
Cecilia Heyes recently developed a novel framework for understanding human cognitive evolution. Contrary to many traditional views, cultural evolutionary psychology argues that distinctively human cognitive traits are transmitted culturally, not biologically. In labeling these mechanisms of thought “cognitive gadgets,” Heyes draws a direct analogy with the cultural artifacts studied by archaeologists. This chapter explores how cultural evolutionary psychology can inform research in cognitive archaeology and vice versa. On the former line of thought, the chapter argues that adopting Heyes’ framework goes some way to addressing the Wynn’s methodological challenge by bringing the categories of the psychological and archaeological sciences closer together. Nonetheless, deep inferential challenges remain. This chapter looks at how we can interpret the record through the lens of cognitive gadgets, using behavioral modernity as a case study. It then examines the way cognitive archaeology can inform research in cultural evolutionary psychology. Using research on the evolution of language, it argues that evidence from cognitive archaeology strengthens Heyes’ case that language is a gadget.
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| Item Type: | Published Article or Volume | ||||||
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| Keywords: | cognitive gadgets, evolutionary cognitive archaeology, inference, language evolution, coevolution | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Archaeology Specific Sciences > Psychology > Evolutionary Psychology Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory Specific Sciences > Cultural Evolution |
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| Depositing User: | Dr Ross Pain | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 13 May 2024 17:16 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 13 May 2024 17:16 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 23414 | ||||||
| Official URL: | http://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192895950.013.... | ||||||
| DOI or Unique Handle: | 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192895950.013.50 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Archaeology Specific Sciences > Psychology > Evolutionary Psychology Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory Specific Sciences > Cultural Evolution |
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| Date: | 2024 | ||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 1149-1168 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/23414 |
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