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Evolution of the reasoning hominid brain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2003

Herman T. Epstein
Herman T. Epstein
Affiliation:
Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543 hte@mbl.edu www.brainstages.net
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Abstract

Cognition is readily seen to be connected to evolution through plots of the ratio of cranial capacity to body size of hominids which show two regions of sharply increasing ratios beginning at 2.5 and 0.5 million years ago – precisely the critical times inferred by the author from his study of tools. A similar correlation exists between current human brain growth spurts and the onsets of the Piagetian stages of reasoning development. The first goal of the author's target article is stated to be “to make a case for the relevance of archeological contributions to studies of the evolution of cognition” (sect. 1, Introduction). His analysis focuses on spatial cognition.

Type
Brief Report
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , June 2002 , pp. 408 - 409
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press

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