BACKGROUND The earliest fossils of Homo sapiens are located in Africa and dated to the
late Middle Pleistocene. At some point later, modern humans dispersed into Asia and …

Empirical aesthetics has found its way into mainstream cognitive science. Until now, most
research has focused either on identifying the internal processes that underlie a perceiver's …

Humans possess an extraordinary capacity for cultural production, from the arts and
language to science and technology. How did the human mind—and the uniquely human …

The behavioral origins of Homo sapiens can be traced back to the first material culture
produced by our species in Africa, the Middle Stone Age (MSA). Beyond this broad …

Abstract and depictive representations produced by drawing—known from Europe, Africa
and Southeast Asia after 40,000 years ago—are a prime indicator of modern cognition and …

" Over the last three million years or so, our lineage has diverged sharply from those of our
great ape relatives. Change has been rapid (in evolutionary terms) and pervasive …

The prefrontal cortex makes up almost a quarter of the human brain, and it expanded
dramatically during primate evolution. The Neurobiology of the Prefrontal Cortex presents a …

The texture of life also changed beyond recognition. From the quiet life of villages, most of
humanity now lived in the tumult of cities. From the relative isolation of villages, humanity …

Recent archaeological discoveries have revealed that pigment use, beads, engravings, and
sophisticated stone and bone tools were already present in southern Africa 75,000 y ago …

Culture suffuses all aspects of human life. It shapes our minds and bodies and has provided
a cumulative inheritance of knowledge, skills, institutions, and artifacts that allows us to truly …