Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

Debates about human cognitive evolution include the uniqueness, antiquity, and foundations of the modern mind. Widelyaccepted models often pose progressive cognitive stages ascribed to particular species from apes to humans, placingthe emergence of fundamental aspects of modern human cognition late in evolution. Given that recent archaeologicaldiscoveries suggest that many traits traditionally used to define H. sapiens mentality (i.e. symbolism, language) are olderand likely shared with archaic hominins (e.g. Neanderthals), how can we identify truly distinctive aspects of cognition inphylogeny? Topical studies are demonstrating how different facets of material culture (e.g. tool use, tool production, skilllearning) can shape the mind. Considering this, models of hominin cognition based on material culture can provide moreaccurate and testable accounts that need not appeal to progressistic criteria. This way, material culture studies can bridgethe current chasm between the archaeological and fossil records and theories of cognitive evolution.