The Ancient Mind: Elements of Cognitive Archaeology

Abstract

Foreword Part I. Introduction: 1. Towards a cognitive archaeology Part II. The Interdisciplinary Underpinning: 2. Interpretations and testability in theories about prehistoric thinking 3. Archaeology and cognitive science 4. From mental modularity to generalized intelligence: a cognitive interpretation of the Middle/Upper Paleolithic transition 5. Are images animated? The psychology of images in Ancient Greece Part III. Approaches to Cult Practice and Transcendental Belief Systems: 6. The archaeology of religion 7. Ancient Zapotec ritual and religion: an application of the direct historical approach 8. The meaning of death 9. Prehistoric cognition and the science of archaeology Part IV. Prehistoric Conceptions of Space and Time: 10. Symbols and signposts: understanding the prehistoric petroglyphs of the British Isles 11. Knowledge representation and archaeology: a cognitive example using GIS 12 Dials: a study in the physical representation of cognitive systems Part V. The Material Basis of Cognitive Inference: Technology: 13. Cognitive aspects of 'technique' 14. Mindful technology: unleashing the Chaine Operatoire for an archaeology of mind 15. Prehistoric technology: a cognitive science? Part VI. The Material Basis of Cognitive Inference: Writing Systems 16. Variation and change in symbol systems: case studies in Elamite Cuneiform 17. Figure and text in Mesopotamia: match and mismatch Part VII. Conclusion: 18. Cognitive archaeology reconsidered.