Tools, Grammar and the Archaeology of Cognition
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6043879 |
|---|---|
| Authors | T Wynn (0000-0002-4341-3564, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1991 |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 191-206 |
| Publication date | 1991-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Cambridge Archaeological Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0959-7743 • E-ISSN: 1474-0540 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0959774300000354 |
| OpenAlex | W2038396816 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 36 |
| References cited | 22 |
Use of archaeological evidence in discussions of the origin and evolution of grammar has proved unconvincing largely because of undeveloped theoretical assumptions about the cognitive connection between language and tool behaviour. This paper examines the cognitive basis of tool use and tool making and concludes that there is no sound theoretical basis for inferring grammatical abilities from prehistoric stone tools. Our knowledge concerning the cognitive basis of tool behaviour can, however, be used to document evolutionary developments in hominid cognition. Analysis of early biface culture, for example, reveals a cognitive complexity greater than that demonstrable for the earlier Oldowan or for modern apes
Archaeology · Cognition · Cognitive grammar · Cognitive science · Grammar · Linguistics · Prehistory · Categorization, perception, and language · History · Language and cultural evolution · Philosophy · Psychology · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
Material Scaffolds in Numbers and Time
Decoding the Blombos Engravings, Shell Beads and Diepkloof Ostrich Eggshell Patterns
Archaeology and cognitive evolution
Cultural learning
Paleolithic Technology and Human Evolution
Rethinking the “we” in “we” intentionality
The evolution of speech and language
Playing with language, creating complexity
Stone Tool Research at the End of the Millennium
When less is more
Plastic pioneers
How Surprising are Lithic Reduction Strategies? The Information Entropy of the Modes A-I Framework
Scientific Archaeology and the Origins of Symbolism
Archaeological Evidence for the Emergence of Language, Symbolism, and Music–An Alternative Multidisciplinary Perspective
Handaxes as a Measure of the Mental Capabilities of Early Hominids
The Wilton and Pre-Ceramic Post-Classic Wilton Industries at Rose Cottage Cave and Their Context in the South African Sequence
The technique as a symbol in Late Glacial Europe
Representation and Recursion in the Archaeological Record
Palaeolithic archaeology and the evolution of mind
What is Cultural Modernity? A General View and a South African Perspective from Rose Cottage Cave
Lithic Analysis as a Cognitive Science
Technology and Society during the Middle Pleistocene
Stone Tools and the Linguistic Capabilities of Earlier Hominids
Understanding Levallois
Differential Raw Material Use in the Middle Pleistocene of Spain
Symbolism in the Early Palaeolithic
Communication and Material Culture
An overview of the cognitive implications of the Oldowan Industrial Complex
Before the Acheulean
From stone tools to fMRI, studying human cognitive evolution when the mind doesn't fossilize
Evolutionary ecology of spoken language
Prehistoric shell beads as a window on language evolution
Flakes and ladders
Fearful symmetry
The Origin of Modern Human Behavior
Man the symboller'. A contemporary origins myth
Directions in cognitive anthropology
Rules and representations
The Psychology of Intelligence
Rules and representations
The biology and evolution of language
Culture, communication and cognition
Syntactic Structures
The emergence of symbols
Early Hominid Activities at Olduvai
Spider Woman
Attributes of Oldowan and Lower Acheulean Tools
The oldowan reassessed
The Archaeology of Perception
The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths
Tools, Language and Intelligence
Hominid Evolution and Community Ecology
An Ape's View of the Oldowan
The Intelligence of Later Acheulean Hominids
Taskonomy
The Projectile Capabilities of an Acheulian Handaxe From Olorgesailie
| Unique citing works | 36 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,06 |
| Citation span | 1992 - 2025 (34) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 34 |