William D Snyder
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 203743 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | William D Snyder |
| NOMBRES | William D |
| APELLIDO | Snyder |
| FIRMA | SNYDER W D |
| AFILIACIONES | University of Tübingen |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5878-984X |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 7 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 31 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 7 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2021 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 2 |
Stone tool shaping without direct cultural transmission
While environment and biology play important roles, the complexity and variability of human life today depends in many ways on special cultural processes. Terminologies differ, but the key insight is that these processes are required to enable and to produce copies of behavior or artifacts that otherwise lie fully or partly beyond individual reach. Such “know-how copying” has proven rare in the animal kingdom, and is nearly or fully absent in con…
Costs of Early Stone Toolmaking cannot Establish the Presence of Know-how Copying
Compared to other apes, humans show a distinctive capacity for the cultural learning and transmission of know-how: we extract know-how from other individuals and artifacts in ways that regularly give rise to forms of know-how that no single individual could realistically invent on their own. Such a capacity is plausibly foundational to humans' striking cultural prowess and hence all that goes with it (e.g., symbolic language, religion). In this a…
Correlates of Vocal Tract Evolution in Late Pliocene and Pleistocene Hominins
Despite decades of research on the emergence of human speech capacities, an integrative account consistent with hominin evolution remains lacking. We review paleoanthropological and archaeological findings in search of a timeline for the emergence of modern human articulatory morphological features. Our synthesis shows that several behavioral innovations coincide with morphological changes to the would-be speech articulators. We find that signifi…
Rethinking Hominin Air Sac Loss in Light of Phylogenetically Meaningful Evidence
The evolution of laryngeal air sacs in hominins has been a subject of considerable debate, with particular attention given to the inferred presence of air sacs in Australopithecus afarensis and inferred absence in Middle and Upper Pleistocene hominins. We challenge several assumptions prevalent in relevant discourse and assert that (1) while exhibiting morphological similarity, it cannot be ruled out that relationships between hyoid morphology an…
Trade-Offs in Standardizing Raw Materials
Experimental stone tool replication is an important method for understanding the context and production of prehistoric technologies. Experimental control is valuable for restricting the influence of confounding variables. Researchers can exert control in studies related to cognition and behavior by standardizing the type, form, and size of raw materials. Although standardization measures are already part of archaeological practice, specific proto…
Have Video Games Evolved Enough to Teach Human Origins
Overview Video games are unparalleled as an interactive medium and can serve as potential educational tools through intelligent game design and the players’ immersion in the game world (e.g., Mayo 2009; Rassalle 2021; Rubio-Campillo 2020; Winter 2021). At the same time, video games, like any media, might also misinform (e.g., Aron 2020; Dennis 2019; Emery and Reinhard 2016). In this review, I present my impressions of the game Ancestors: A Humank…
Early knapping techniques do not necessitate cultural transmission
Early stone tool production, or knapping, techniques are claimed to be the earliest evidence for cultural transmission in the human lineage. Previous experimental studies have trained human participants to knap in conditions involving opportunities for cultural transmission. Subsequent knapping was then interpreted as evidence for a necessity of the provided cultural transmission opportunities for these techniques. However, a valid necessity clai…
Early knapping techniques do not necessitate cultural transmission
Early stone tool production, or knapping, techniques are claimed to be the earliest evidence for cultural transmission in the human lineage. Previous experimental studies have trained human participants to knap in conditions involving opportunities for cultural transmission. Subsequent knapping was then interpreted as evidence for a necessity of the provided cultural transmission opportunities for these techniques. However, a valid necessity clai…
Have Video Games Evolved Enough to Teach Human Origins
Overview Video games are unparalleled as an interactive medium and can serve as potential educational tools through intelligent game design and the players’ immersion in the game world (e.g., Mayo 2009; Rassalle 2021; Rubio-Campillo 2020; Winter 2021). At the same time, video games, like any media, might also misinform (e.g., Aron 2020; Dennis 2019; Emery and Reinhard 2016). In this review, I present my impressions of the game Ancestors: A Humank…
Costs of Early Stone Toolmaking cannot Establish the Presence of Know-how Copying
Compared to other apes, humans show a distinctive capacity for the cultural learning and transmission of know-how: we extract know-how from other individuals and artifacts in ways that regularly give rise to forms of know-how that no single individual could realistically invent on their own. Such a capacity is plausibly foundational to humans' striking cultural prowess and hence all that goes with it (e.g., symbolic language, religion). In this a…
Correlates of Vocal Tract Evolution in Late Pliocene and Pleistocene Hominins
Despite decades of research on the emergence of human speech capacities, an integrative account consistent with hominin evolution remains lacking. We review paleoanthropological and archaeological findings in search of a timeline for the emergence of modern human articulatory morphological features. Our synthesis shows that several behavioral innovations coincide with morphological changes to the would-be speech articulators. We find that signifi…
Trade-Offs in Standardizing Raw Materials
Experimental stone tool replication is an important method for understanding the context and production of prehistoric technologies. Experimental control is valuable for restricting the influence of confounding variables. Researchers can exert control in studies related to cognition and behavior by standardizing the type, form, and size of raw materials. Although standardization measures are already part of archaeological practice, specific proto…
Early knapping techniques do not necessitate cultural transmission
Early stone tool production, or knapping, techniques are claimed to be the earliest evidence for cultural transmission in the human lineage. Previous experimental studies have trained human participants to knap in conditions involving opportunities for cultural transmission. Subsequent knapping was then interpreted as evidence for a necessity of the provided cultural transmission opportunities for these techniques. However, a valid necessity clai…
Have Video Games Evolved Enough to Teach Human Origins
Overview Video games are unparalleled as an interactive medium and can serve as potential educational tools through intelligent game design and the players’ immersion in the game world (e.g., Mayo 2009; Rassalle 2021; Rubio-Campillo 2020; Winter 2021). At the same time, video games, like any media, might also misinform (e.g., Aron 2020; Dennis 2019; Emery and Reinhard 2016). In this review, I present my impressions of the game Ancestors: A Humank…
Trade-Offs in Standardizing Raw Materials
Experimental stone tool replication is an important method for understanding the context and production of prehistoric technologies. Experimental control is valuable for restricting the influence of confounding variables. Researchers can exert control in studies related to cognition and behavior by standardizing the type, form, and size of raw materials. Although standardization measures are already part of archaeological practice, specific proto…
Costs of Early Stone Toolmaking cannot Establish the Presence of Know-how Copying
Compared to other apes, humans show a distinctive capacity for the cultural learning and transmission of know-how: we extract know-how from other individuals and artifacts in ways that regularly give rise to forms of know-how that no single individual could realistically invent on their own. Such a capacity is plausibly foundational to humans' striking cultural prowess and hence all that goes with it (e.g., symbolic language, religion). In this a…
Correlates of Vocal Tract Evolution in Late Pliocene and Pleistocene Hominins
Despite decades of research on the emergence of human speech capacities, an integrative account consistent with hominin evolution remains lacking. We review paleoanthropological and archaeological findings in search of a timeline for the emergence of modern human articulatory morphological features. Our synthesis shows that several behavioral innovations coincide with morphological changes to the would-be speech articulators. We find that signifi…
Rethinking Hominin Air Sac Loss in Light of Phylogenetically Meaningful Evidence
The evolution of laryngeal air sacs in hominins has been a subject of considerable debate, with particular attention given to the inferred presence of air sacs in Australopithecus afarensis and inferred absence in Middle and Upper Pleistocene hominins. We challenge several assumptions prevalent in relevant discourse and assert that (1) while exhibiting morphological similarity, it cannot be ruled out that relationships between hyoid morphology an…
Stone tool shaping without direct cultural transmission
While environment and biology play important roles, the complexity and variability of human life today depends in many ways on special cultural processes. Terminologies differ, but the key insight is that these processes are required to enable and to produce copies of behavior or artifacts that otherwise lie fully or partly beyond individual reach. Such “know-how copying” has proven rare in the animal kingdom, and is nearly or fully absent in con…
Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (5 obras) · Archaeology (4 obras) · History (4 obras) · Language and cultural evolution (4 obras) · Primate Behavior and Ecology (4 obras) · Computer Science (3 obras) · History (3 obras) · Knapping (3 obras) · Acheulean (2 obras) · Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior (2 obras)