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The Neanderthal Legacy : An Archaeological Perspective from Western Europe / Paul A. Mellars.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [1995]Copyright date: ©1996Description: 1 online resource (480 p.)Content type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780691167985
  • 9781400843602
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 936 23
LOC classification:
  • GN285.M45
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources: Available additional physical forms:
  • Issued also in print.
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Tables -- List of Illustrations -- Preface -- CHAPTER 1. Introduction -- CHAPTER 2. The Environmental Background to Middle Palaeolithic Occupation -- CHAPTER 3. Stone Tool Technology -- CHAPTER 4. Tool Morphology, Function and Typology -- CHAPTER 5. The Procurement and Distribution of Raw Materials -- CHAPTER 6. Industrial Taxonomy and Chronology -- CHAPTER 7. Middle Palaeolithic Subsistence -- CHAPTER 8. Sites in the Landscape -- CHAPTER 9. The Spatial Organization of Middle Palaeolithic Sites -- CHAPTER 10. The Significance of Industrial Variability -- CHAPTER 11. Neanderthal Society -- CHAPTER 12. The Neanderthal Mind -- CHAPTER 13. The Big Transition -- References -- Index of Sites -- General Index
Summary: The Neanderthals populated western Europe from nearly 250,000 to 30,000 years ago when they disappeared from the archaeological record. In turn, populations of anatomically modern humans, Homo sapiens, came to dominate the area. Seeking to understand the nature of this replacement, which has become a hotly debated issue, Paul Mellars brings together an unprecedented amount of information on the behavior of Neanderthals. His comprehensive overview ranges from the evidence of tool manufacture and related patterns of lithic technology, through the issues of subsistence and settlement patterns, to the more controversial evidence for social organization, cognition, and intelligence. Mellars argues that previous attempts to characterize Neanderthal behavior as either "modern" or "ape-like" are both overstatements. We can better comprehend the replacement of Neanderthals, he maintains, by concentrating on the social and demographic structure of Neanderthal populations and on their specific adaptations to the harsh ecological conditions of the last glaciation. Mellars's approach to these issues is grounded firmly in his archaeological evidence. He illustrates the implications of these findings by drawing from the methods of comparative socioecology, primate studies, and Pleistocene paleoecology. The book provides a detailed review of the climatic and environmental background to Neanderthal occupation in Europe, and of the currently topical issues of the behavioral and biological transition from Neanderthal to fully "modern" populations.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9781400843602

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Tables -- List of Illustrations -- Preface -- CHAPTER 1. Introduction -- CHAPTER 2. The Environmental Background to Middle Palaeolithic Occupation -- CHAPTER 3. Stone Tool Technology -- CHAPTER 4. Tool Morphology, Function and Typology -- CHAPTER 5. The Procurement and Distribution of Raw Materials -- CHAPTER 6. Industrial Taxonomy and Chronology -- CHAPTER 7. Middle Palaeolithic Subsistence -- CHAPTER 8. Sites in the Landscape -- CHAPTER 9. The Spatial Organization of Middle Palaeolithic Sites -- CHAPTER 10. The Significance of Industrial Variability -- CHAPTER 11. Neanderthal Society -- CHAPTER 12. The Neanderthal Mind -- CHAPTER 13. The Big Transition -- References -- Index of Sites -- General Index

restricted access online access with authorization star

http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

The Neanderthals populated western Europe from nearly 250,000 to 30,000 years ago when they disappeared from the archaeological record. In turn, populations of anatomically modern humans, Homo sapiens, came to dominate the area. Seeking to understand the nature of this replacement, which has become a hotly debated issue, Paul Mellars brings together an unprecedented amount of information on the behavior of Neanderthals. His comprehensive overview ranges from the evidence of tool manufacture and related patterns of lithic technology, through the issues of subsistence and settlement patterns, to the more controversial evidence for social organization, cognition, and intelligence. Mellars argues that previous attempts to characterize Neanderthal behavior as either "modern" or "ape-like" are both overstatements. We can better comprehend the replacement of Neanderthals, he maintains, by concentrating on the social and demographic structure of Neanderthal populations and on their specific adaptations to the harsh ecological conditions of the last glaciation. Mellars's approach to these issues is grounded firmly in his archaeological evidence. He illustrates the implications of these findings by drawing from the methods of comparative socioecology, primate studies, and Pleistocene paleoecology. The book provides a detailed review of the climatic and environmental background to Neanderthal occupation in Europe, and of the currently topical issues of the behavioral and biological transition from Neanderthal to fully "modern" populations.

Issued also in print.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 30. Aug 2021)