NEANDERTAL COGNITION OFFERED ONLINE NOW AT THE CENTER FOR COGNITIVE ARCHAEOLOGY @ UCCS

How did Neandertals experience their world? How did their cognition and culture differ from ours? Were they pragmatic? Callous or cold-hearted? Did they love, were they charitable? Were they tough? Dogmatic? Xenophobic?

Join Professor Frederick L Coolidge for our online course in the Neandertal Cognition. Together, we will explore the mind of some of our recent ancestors to compare and contrast similarities and differences between our behavior and the behavior of these archaic humans. After a century of suffering the negative biases of early scholars, Neandertals are emerging from the shadows of prehistory to take their rightful place as explorers and innovators who fought to survive in a heretofore uninhabitable clime. Our course reviews the archaeological evidence via empirical models of cognition in an effort to understand the cognitive and behavioral strategies employed by Homo neanderthalensis during their nearly half million years of existence. Classes run from August 26 to December 21.

For enrollment information, see https://www.uccs.edu/lases/full_program_listings/cca

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NEUROCOGNITION OF ART OFFERED ONLINE NOW AT THE CENTER FOR COGNITIVE ARCHAEOLOGY @ UCCS

When, where, and how did modern human aesthetics evolve?

Join Professor Manuel Martín-Loeches of the Complutense University of Madrid for our online course in the Neurocognition of Art. This course explores the biopsychological basis of human artistic behavior by investigating its neurocognitive and biological underpinnings. We expand our understanding of this otherwise bizarre activity in natural terms, thereby contextualizing art within the framework of Natural Selection. This approach provides a suitable foundation for exploring the possible evolutionary origins of art, its development, as well as its major milestones along human evolution. Although the course is mainly focused in visual art, much of its content can be applied to other forms of artistic behavior. Classes begin August 26 and end December 21.

For enrollment information, see https://www.uccs.edu/lases/full_program_listings/cca

COGNITIVE EVOLUTION OFFERED ONLINE NOW AT THE CENTER FOR COGNITIVE ARCHAEOLOGY @ UCCS

When, where, and how did the modern human mind evolve?

Join distinguished Professor Thomas Wynn for our online course in Cognitive Evolution. This course employs the theories and methods of several academic domains (cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, archaeology, linguistics, philosophy of mind, etc.) to interpret the tangible evidence for the evolution of mind—non-human primate anatomy and behavior, human neuroanatomy, hominin paleontology, and archaeology. Here, you will explore the origins and adaptive purposes of concept formation, spatial cognition, social cognition, language, symbolic structures, technology, and working memory on your way to a deeper understanding of the evolutionary changes in form and function of the mind. For detailed information (including syllabi) on this course and others offered from August 26 to December 21, visit us at https://www.uccs.edu/cca/.

Learn how to register at https://www.uccs.edu/lases/full_program_listings/cca

PALEONEUROLOGY OFFERED ONLINE NOW AT THE CENTER FOR COGNITIVE ARCHAEOLOGY @ UCCS

How have hominid brains evolved over time? How can we study the central nervous systems of species long ago fossilized? How does modern medical imaging and computed statistical analyses contribute to our understanding of archaic human brain size, shape, and even function? How can paleoneurology inform the investigations of cognitive archaeologists?

 

Join renowned paleoneurologist Dr. Emiliano Bruner (National Research Center on Human Evolution, Burgos, Spain) for this course presenting topics and issues associated with the field of human paleoneurology, namely the study of brain evolution in fossil species. Endocasts (endocranial casts) are introduced, along with past analog and current digital methods of anatomical reconstructions and morphometric analyses. Additional modules concern the brain and the skull, in terms of anatomy, ontogeny and evolution. The structural and functional relationship between brain and braincase (functional craniology) is a particular area of focus. The main paleoneurological features associated with fossil hominids are described and discussed, with special attention paid to Neandertals. Craniovascular features are also introduced and described as evidence of the vascular system and associated blood flow in extinct species. Accordingly, metabolism and brain energetic are also acknowledged.

Classes run from August 26 to December 21. For enrollment information, see https://www.uccs.edu/lases/full_program_listings/cca

EVOLUTION OF RITUAL AND RELIGION OFFERED ONLINE NOW AT THE CENTER FOR COGNITIVE ARCHAEOLOGY @ UCCS

How did humankind’s belief in an afterlife evolve? What is a ritual? What rituals are uniquely human? How did ritual evolve? What adaptive purposes do rituals serve?

Join Professor Matt Rossano for our online course The Evolution of Ritual and Religion. Together, we will take a highly inter-disciplinary approach using archeology, anthropology, primatology, and cognitive science to define what ritual and religion are, and to explore the role they have played in making us human. From the earliest traces of supernaturalization to the rise of morality and monotheism, this course explores the evolution of the form and functions of human spirituality. Classes run from August 26 to December 21. For enrollment information, see https://www.uccs.edu/lases/full_program_listings/cca

5 EXCITING CLASSES OFFERED ONLINE NOW AT THE CENTER FOR COGNITIVE ARCHAEOLOGY @ UCCS

The Center For Cognitive Archaeology at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs is now offering the following six online classes for the fall 2019 semester, August 26 to December 21. Graduate and Undergraduate level training is offered in each class. For information on enrolling, please visit us at: https://www.uccs.edu/lases/full_program_listings/cca

NEANDERTAL COGNITION OFFERED ONLINE NOW AT THE CENTER FOR COGNITIVE ARCHAEOLOGY @ UCCS

How did Neandertals experience their world? How did their cognition and culture differ from ours? Were they pragmatic? Callous or cold-hearted? Did they love, were they charitable? Were they tough? Dogmatic? Xenophobic?

Join Professors Thomas Wynn and James Hicks for our online course in the Neandertal Cognition. Together, we will explore the mind of some of our recent ancestors to compare and contrast similarities and differences between our behavior and the behavior of these archaic humans. After a century of suffering the negative biases of early scholars, Neandertals are emerging from the shadows of prehistory to take their rightful place as explorers and innovators who fought to survive in a heretofore uninhabitable clime. Our course reviews the archaeological evidence via empirical models of cognition in an effort to understand the cognitive and behavioral strategies employed by Homo neanderthalensis during their nearly half million years of existence. Classes begin June 10 and end August 2. For enrollment information, see https://www.uccs.edu/lases/full_program_listings/cca

COGNITIVE EVOLUTION OFFERED ONLINE NOW AT THE CENTER FOR COGNITIVE ARCHAEOLOGY @ UCCS

When, where, and how did the modern human mind evolve?

Our accelerated online course in Cognitive Evolution employs the theories and methods of several academic domains (cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, archaeology, linguistics, philosophy of mind, etc.) to interpret the tangible evidence for the evolution of mind—non-human primate anatomy and behavior, human neuroanatomy, hominin paleontology, and archaeology. Here, you will explore the origins and adaptive purposes of concept formation, spatial cognition, social cognition, language, symbolic structures, technology, and working memory on your way to a deeper understanding of the evolutionary changes in form and function of the mind. For detailed information (including syllabi) on this course and others offered this summer semester June 10 to August 2, visit us at https://www.uccs.edu/cca/.

EVOLUTION OF RITUAL AND RELIGION OFFERED ONLINE NOW AT THE CENTER FOR COGNITIVE ARCHAEOLOGY @ UCCS

How did humankind’s belief in an afterlife evolve? What is a ritual? What rituals are uniquely human? How did ritual evolve? What adaptive purposes do rituals serve?

Join Professor Matt Rossano for our online course The Evolution of Ritual and Religion. Together, we will take a highly inter-disciplinary approach using archeology, anthropology, primatology, and cognitive science to define what ritual and religion are, and to explore the role they have played in making us human. From the earliest traces of supernaturalization to the rise of morality and monotheism, this course explores the evolution of the form and functions of human spirituality. Classes run from June 10 to August 2. For enrollment information, see https://www.uccs.edu/lases/full_program_listings/cca

Squeezing Minds From Stones

Squeezing Minds From Stones is a collection of essays from early pioneers in the field, like archaeologists Thomas Wynn and Iain Davidson, and evolutionary primatologist William McGrew, to ‘up and coming’ newcomers like Shelby Putt, Ceri Shipton, Mark Moore, James Cole, Natalie Uomini, and Lana Ruck. Their essays address a wide variety of cognitive archaeology topics, including the value of experimental archaeology, primate archaeology, the intent of ancient tool makers, and how they may have lived and thought.

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/squeezing-minds-from-stones-9780190854614?q=Squeezing%20Minds%20From%20Stones&lang=en&cc=us