The Colonization of Australia and Its Adjacent Islands and the Evolution of Modern Cognition.

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  • Author(s): Davidson, Iain
  • Source:
    Current Anthropology. Jun2010 Supplement, Vol. 51 Issue S1, pS177-S189. 13p. 4 Charts, 1 Map.
  • Additional Information
    • Subject Terms:
      COLONIZATION; LAND settlement; HUMAN behavior; COGNITIVE ability; RECORDS; THEORY; CONTINENTS
    • Subject Terms:
      AUSTRALIA; AFRICA
    • Abstract:
      The first colonization of the Greater Australian continent, known as Sahul, indicated that humans had modern cognitive ability. Such modern human abilities probably emerged earlier in Africa. I will argue that the only way we can identify what constitutes modern human behavior is to look at the record in Australia—the first place colonized only by modern humans. I place this argument within recent theorizing about cognitive evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
    • Abstract:
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