British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences
Social Brain, Distributed Mind
Abstract
Brain, Mind and Material Culture in Evolutionary Perspective
Steven Mithen (Reading)
My 1996 book The Prehistory of the Mind proposed a model for the evolution of the modern mind, seeking to integrate the most recent data and theories from archaeology and psychology. This contribution will review the impact on that specific model and on the field of cognitive evolution more generally of recent discoveries from the archaeological and fossil records, of new theories, and of new research in neuroscience and related disciplines. When viewed together, such developments constitute a major and on-going revision of our how we envisage the brain, the mind and material artefacts and how these inter-relate, which ultimately impinges on our understanding of the relationship between biology and culture.