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Imitation and Shared Intentionality in the Acheulean

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2010

Ceri Shipton
Ceri Shipton
Affiliation:
Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Henry Wellcome Building, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge, CB2 1QH, UK, Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Imitation and shared intentionality are traits essential to the socio-cultural adaptation of Homo sapiens. Non-human apes display some capacity for imitation and shared intentionality, but are deficient in comparison to Homo sapiens. The Acheulean archaeological record provides evidence that imitation and shared intentionality were part of the behavioural repertoire of the hominins manufacturing that industry. The palaeoneurological record suggests some early Homo specimens possessed the neural architecture associated with modern human imitation. From this evidence it is suggested that a propensity for imitation and shared intentionality evolved soon after 2 million years ago.

Type
Research Article
Information
Cambridge Archaeological Journal , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , June 2010 , pp. 197 - 210
Copyright
Copyright © The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research 2010

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