This CARTA series explores the evolution of “Theory of Mind” (ToM), the ability to impute mental states such as beliefs, desires, and intentions to oneself and others, and how ToM makes us uniquely human. Elizabeth Spelke (Harvard Univ) begins with a discussion about What Makes Humans Different?, followed by Jason Mitchell (Harvard Univ) on Brain Imaging Studies, and Michael Arbib (Univ of Southern California) on Mirror Neurons and More. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training...
Dec 18, 2013•58 min
This CARTA series explores the evolution of “Theory of Mind” (ToM), the ability to impute mental states such as beliefs, desires, and intentions to oneself and others, and how ToM makes us uniquely human. Tetsuro Matsuzawa (Kyoto Univ) begins with a discussion about “Mind Reading” in Chimpanzees, followed by Juliane Kaminski (Univ of Portsmouth, UK) on Comparing Apes and Dogs, and Diana Reiss (Hunter College, CUNY) on Reflections of Dolphin and Elephant Minds. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academi...
Dec 11, 2013•58 min
This CARTA series explores the evolution of “Theory of Mind” (ToM), the ability to impute mental states such as beliefs, desires, and intentions to oneself and others, and how ToM makes us uniquely human. Ralph Adolphs (Caltech) begins with a discussion about the definition of ToM, followed by Jessica Sommerville (Univ of Washington) on the Emergence of Theory of Mind in Human Babies, and Sarah-Jayne Blakemore (University College London) on The Social Brain in Adolescence. Series: "CARTA - Cente...
Dec 04, 2013•58 min
Ajit Varki (CARTA Co-Director, UC San Diego), Pascal Gagneux (CARTA Associate Director, UC San Diego), and Margaret Schoeninger (CARTA Co-Director, UC San Diego) describe CARTA’s Museum of Comparative Anthropogeny and offer some closing remarks for the CARTA Symposium on “Human and Non-Human Cultures.” Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 17829]
Aug 16, 2013•12 min
In this presentation from CARTA’s Human and Non-Human Culture Symposium, Jonathan Friedman (UC San Diego) discusses “The Cultural as Emergent Order: What Francois Jacob Tells Claude Levi-Strauss.” Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 17828]
Aug 16, 2013•27 min
In this presentation from CARTA’s Human and Non-Human Culture Symposium, Andrew Whiten (University of St. Andrews Scotland) discusses “The Cultural Worlds of Child and Chimpanzee.” Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 17827]
Aug 16, 2013•20 min
In this presentation from CARTA’s Human and Non-Human Culture Symposium, Hal Whitehead (Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia) discusses “Cultures of the Open Ocean: The Sperm Whale.” Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 17826]
Aug 16, 2013•19 min
In this presentation from CARTA’s Human and Non-Human Culture Symposium, Peter Tyack (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) discusses “Vocal Learning in Dolphins and Parrots.” Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 17825]
Aug 16, 2013•20 min
CARTA: Human and Non-Human Cultures – Timothy Wright Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 17824]
Aug 16, 2013•21 min
In this presentation from CARTA’s Human and Non-Human Culture Symposium, Susan Perry (UCLA) discusses “Social Learning and Traditions in Wild Capuchin Monkeys.” Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 17823]
Aug 16, 2013•20 min
In this presentation from CARTA’s Human and Non-Human Culture Symposium, Rupert Stasch (UC San Diego) discusses “Cultural Reflexivity in Human Cultures.” Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 17822]
Aug 16, 2013•22 min
In this presentation from CARTA’s Human and Non-Human Culture Symposium, Donald Brown (UC Santa Barbara) discusses “Human Cultural Universals: How and Where They Differ.” Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 17821]
Aug 16, 2013•19 min
Margaret Schoeninger (CARTA Co-Director, UC San Diego) and James Moore (Symposium Chair, UC San Diego) provide some introductory remarks to the CARTA symposium on “Human and Non-Human Cultures” held on October 2, 2009. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 17820]
Aug 16, 2013•11 min
Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 25401]
Aug 02, 2013•31 min
Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 25400]
Aug 02, 2013•19 min
Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 25399]
Aug 02, 2013•9 min
CARTA: Behaviorally Modern Humans: The Origin of Us – Iain Davidson: Stone Tools and Cognition: Lessons from Australia In this talk, Iain Davidson (Univ of New England, Australia) addresses four topics: What is cognition? Can we learn anything from brains? What was the cognitive ability of the Last Common Ancestor? And, how can we learn from stone tools? He emphasizes specific aspects of stone tool making and use, which show how it required particular cognitive abilities and provided a selective...
Aug 02, 2013•21 min
CARTA: Behaviorally Modern Humans: The Origin of Us – Christopher Ehret: Relationships of Ancient African Languages Almost all of the more than 1,000 African languages spoken today belong to just four families – Afroasiatic, Niger-Kordofanian, Nilo-Saharan, and Khoesan. As these language families spread out across the continent in the early Holocene, they gradually drove out hundreds of other languages that used to be spoken in Africa. Christopher Ehret (UCLA) reflects on the relationships of th...
Aug 02, 2013•21 min
Ofer Bar-Yosef (Harvard Univ) briefly summarizes the archaeological evidence for the dispersals of modern humans into Eurasia avoiding the assumptions that these events, whether short or continuous, were triggered by climatic conditions or followed the dispersals of other mammals. He contends that tracing past human groups as they move through time and space in Eurasia relies on the recognition of how they made their stone tools. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anth...
Aug 02, 2013•20 min
Evidence points strongly to Africa as the major center for the genetic, physical and behavioral origins of both ancient and modern humans. In this talk, Chris Stringer (Natural History Museum, London) reviews recent genetic and paleontological research that suggests more complex scenarios for our origins than had been considered previously. This includes the likelihood of interbreeding between archaic and modern humans, both within and outside of Africa. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Rese...
Aug 02, 2013•18 min
Lyn Wadley (Univ of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg) contends that the manufacture of compound adhesives and compound paints by 100,000 years ago in South Africa is clear evidence for modern thought processes that involve, for example, multi-tasking. Some early hunting technologies support this conclusion. Cultural traditions, reminiscent of hunter-gatherer ones practiced in historic times, are also evident in South Africa’s Middle Stone Age, by not less than 100,000 years ago. Series: "CARTA - Cent...
Aug 02, 2013•19 min
Rick Potts (Smithsonian Institution) suggests that the complexity of climate dynamics, and associated resource uncertainty, likely influenced the evolution of adaptive versatility in our species, expressed by the expansion of mobile technologies, symbolism, social networks, and behavioral diversity. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 25390]
Aug 02, 2013•20 min
One of the enduring questions of human origins is when, where and how we "Behaviorally Modern Humans" emerged and why and how we eventually replaced all the other human-like species. This series takes a fresh look at the situation today with a critical examination of the available evidence from multiple sources. Ofer Bar-Yosef (Harvard Univ) leads off with a talk about Evidence for the Spread of Modern Humans, followed by Christopher Ehret (UCLA) on Relationships of Ancient African Languages, an...
Jul 29, 2013•59 min
One of the enduring questions of human origins is when, where and how we "Behaviorally Modern Humans" emerged and why and how we eventually replaced all the other human-like species. This series takes a fresh look at the situation today with a critical examination of the available evidence from multiple sources. Chris Stringer (Natural History Museum, London) leads off with a talk about the Fossil Record of Anatomically Modern Humans, followed by Michael Hammer (Univ of Arizona) on Interbreeding...
Jul 22, 2013•59 min
One of the enduring questions of human origins is when, where and how we "Behaviorally Modern Humans" emerged and why and how we eventually replaced all the other human-like species. This series takes a fresh look at the situation today with a critical examination of the available evidence from multiple sources. Rick Potts (Smithsonian Institution) leads off with a talk about African Climate of the Last 400,000 Years, followed by Alison S. Brooks (George Washington Univ/Smithsonian Institution) ...
Jul 15, 2013•58 min
Morality is a social behavior seen in mammals, and some birds, which depends on an interlocking brain organization shaped by four factors. Patricia Churchland (UC San Diego) discusses how the importance of these factors can vary between species, as a function of natural selection operating on subcortical structures, and of the degree of flexibility of the cortical organization. For example, increased capacity for impulse control is a feature of frontal brain expansion. Social benefits are accomp...
May 03, 2013•20 min
Colin Renfrew (McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research) discusses the “Sapient Paradox.” The genetic basis of humankind was established 200,000 years ago, and yet the tectonic phase of human development is only 10,000 years old. So what took so long? Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24982]
May 03, 2013•19 min
Steve Mithen (Univ of Reading) discusses what the archaeological and fossil records tell us about the similarities and differences between the minds of Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24980]
May 03, 2013•22 min
In this talk, Daniel Povinelli (Univ of Louisiana at Lafayette) suggests that “desperately seeking explanation” is a uniquely human mental function. In science, this “explanatory drive” can be properly regarded as a mania, which, as it proceeds largely uncontrolled, will continue to yield products that both improve, and threaten, our very existence. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24979]
May 03, 2013•20 min
Why is human thought so flexible? Although many features of human brains can be attributed to selection for novel cognitive functions (e.g., for symbolic language), relaxation of selection on other attributes has additionally contributed to de-differentiation of certain brain functions. Here a parallel process is described by Terry Deacon (UC Berkeley) involving domestication and birdsong. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24978]
May 03, 2013•18 min
