Neandertal Cognition OFFERED ONLINE FALL 2018 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 immediately and end December 2018. For enrollment information, see https://www.uccs.edu/lases/full_program_listings/cca

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 (Spain) 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 immediately and end December 2018.

Cognitive Evolution OFFERED ONLINE NOW AT THE CENTER FOR COGNITIVE ARCHAEOLOGY @ UCCS

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

Our 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. Classes begin immediately and end December 2018. 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 begin immediately and end December 2018. For enrollment information, see https://www.uccs.edu/lases/full_program_listings/cca

Language Typologies & Universals offered online NOW at The Center for Cognitive Archaeology @ UCCS

Which properties of speech remain invariant across languages while others show patterned variation cross-linguistically, and why? What are “shifters” and why are they found in most linguistic systems? What is working memory and how does it constrain language? How do our brains and bodies work together to produce and comprehend speech?

Please join Professors Watts and Overmann for our online course Language Typologies and Universals, which addresses the intersection of language, cognition and social discourse via linguistics and the neuropsychology of language. Together we will read a set of key books and articles around these topics to develop insights about how social context and cognitive processing shape language. Classes begin immediately and end December 2018.

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 five online classes for the fall semester, August to December, 2018. 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

Cognitive Evolution OFFERED ONLINE FALL 2018 AT THE CENTER FOR COGNITIVE ARCHAEOLOGY @ UCCS

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

This August, our 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 fall, visit us athttps://www.uccs.edu/cca/

Evolution of Ritual and Religion OFFERED ONLINE FALL 2018 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?

This August 20th, 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. For detailed information (including syllabi) on this course and others offered this fall, visit us at https://www.uccs.edu/cca/

Neandertal Cognition OFFERED ONLINE FALL 2018 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?

This August 20th, 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. For detailed information (including syllabi) on this course and others offered this fall, visit us at https://www.uccs.edu/cca/

Neurocognition of Art OFFERED ONLINE FALL 2018 AT THE CENTER FOR COGNITIVE ARCHAEOLOGY @ UCCS

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

This August, join Professor Manuel Martín-Loeches of the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) 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. For detailed information (including syllabi) on this course and others offered this fall, visit us at https://www.uccs.edu/cca/