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The Brain as a Cultural Artefact

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2008

Steven Mithen  and
Lawrence Parsons
Steven Mithen
Affiliation:
School of Human & Environmental Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 227, Reading, RG6 6AB, UK; Email: s.j.mithen@rdg.ac.uk
Lawrence Parsons
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TP, UK; Email: L.Parsons@sheffield.ac.uk
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Abstract

Where does biology end and culture begin? While the human body is now widely accepted as being both biological and cultural, the brain is still considered by archaeologists as being a biological entity that provides the capacity for culture and is subject to no further change after the evolution of Homo sapiens. This article reviews recent research that suggests that the brain has continued to evolve at an increasing rate in recent times under the influence of culturally created environments and that both the anatomy and function of individual brains can be manipulated by cultural behaviour. It describes an experiment in which one of us successfully changed his own brain in response to his cultural activity.

Type
Special Section: Steps to a ‘Neuroarchaeology’ of Mind, part 1
Information
Cambridge Archaeological Journal , Volume 18 , Issue 3 , October 2008 , pp. 415 - 422
Copyright
Copyright © The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research 2008

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