The Lawrence Jacobsen Library
Books Received (Primate-Science/PrimateLit)

STONE KNAPPING: THE NECESSARY CONDITIONS FOR A UNIQUELY HOMININ BEHAVIOUR

Edited by Valentine Roux and Blandine Bril


FROM THE PUBLISHER

How were early stone tools made, and what can they tell us about the development 

of human cognition? This question lies at the basis of archaeological research on 

human origins and evolution, and the present volume fulfils a growing need among 

advanced students and researchers working in this field. The individual chapters 

by a range of leading international scholars approach stone knapping from a 

multidisciplinary perspective that embraces psychology, physiology, behavioral 

biology and primatology as well as archaeology. The skills and behavior of humans 

and their primate relatives are key parts of the enquiry. The result is a better 

understanding of early human engagement with the material world and the complex 

actions required for the creation of stone tools. The book contains many illustrations 

and is extensively referenced, and provides a landmark contribution in this field.



ABOUT THE EDITORS

Valentine Roux

UMR 7055, Prehistoire et Technologie, CNRS, Maison de l'Archéologie et de l'Ethnologie, 21 allée de l'Université, 92023 Nanterre cedex, France



Blandine Bril

Groupe de Recherche: Apprentissage et Contexte, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, 54 Bd  Raspail, 75006 Paris, France.



CONTENTS

Contributors v

Figures vii

Tables x

Preface xi



Chapter 1, General Introduction: a Dynamic Systems Framework for Studying a Uniquely Hominin Innovation

VALENTINE ROUX & BLANDINE BRIL    1



Part I, Stone Knapping: Characterizing a Tool-related Task

Section A, Stone Knapping: a Technical Characterization

Chapter 2, Remarks about Archaeological Techniques and Methods of Knapping: Elements of a Cognitive Approach to Stone Knapping

JACQUES PELEGRIN           23



Chapter 3, From Simple Flaking to Shaping: Stone-knapping Evolution among Early Hominins

HÉLÈNE ROCHE                   35



Section B, Stone Knapping: Characterizing the Skills Involved

Skills Involved in Stone Knapping

Chapter 4, Stone Knapping: Khambhat (India), a Unique Opportunity?

BLANDINE BRIL, VALENTINE ROUX & GILLES DIETRICH      53



Chapter 5, The Organization of Arm Kinematic Synergies: the Case of Stone-bead Knapping in Khambhat

ELENA V. BIRYUKOVA, BLANDINE BRIL, GILLES DIETRICH, AGNES ROBY-BRAMI, MIKHAIL A. KUUKOV & PETR E. MOLCHANOV          73



Chapter 6, Planning Abilities as a Dynamic Perceptual-motor Skill:

an Actualist Study of Different Levels of Expertise Involved in Stone Knapping

VALENTINE ROUX & EVA DAVID            91



Chapter 7, An Investigation of Knapping-skill Development in the Manufacture of Palaeolithic Handaxes

VICKY WINTON      109



Further Considerations on the Skills Involved in Tool Use

Chapter 8, The Biomechanics of the Complex Coordinated Stroke

GAUNA P. IVANOVA           119



Chapter 9, Action Dynamics in Tool Use

AD W. SMITSMAN, RALF F.A. Cox & RAOUL M. BONGERS     129



Skills Involved in Object-related Tasks in Non-human Primates

Chapter 10, A Preliminary Analysis of Nut-cracking Movements in a Captive Chimpanzee: Adaptation to the Properties of Tools and Nuts

JULIE FOUCART, BLANDINE BRIL, SATOSHI HIRATA, NARUKI MORIMURA, CHIHARU HOUKI, YOSHIKAZU UENO & TETSURO MATSUZAWA 147



Chapter 11, The Maker not the Tool: the Cognitive Significance of Great Ape Manual Skills RICHARD W. BYRNE    159



Chapter 12, Capuchins as Stone-knappers?: an Evaluation of the Evidence

SARAH E. CUMMINS-SEBREE & DOROTHY M. FRAGASZY                 171



Part II, Stone Knapping: the Necessary Conditions for the Required Skills

Section A, The Bio-behavioral System

Chapter 13, Dynamic Interactions between Posture, Handedness, and Bimanual Coordination

in Human Infants: Why Stone Knapping might be a Uniquely Hominin Behavior

DANIELA CORBETTA          187



Chapter 14, Investigating Manual Specializations in Extant and Extinct Hominins

M.K. HOLDER           205



Chapter 15, Humans, Tools and Handedness

JAMES STEELE & NATALIE UOMINI        217



Section B, Somatic and Neural Substrate

Chapter 16, Who made Stone Tools?

MARY W. MARZKE  243



Chapter 17, The Importance of Direct vs Indirect Corticospinal Connections for Dexterity and their Evolution

MARC A. MAIER, PETER A. KIRKWOOD, KATSUMI NAKAJIMA & ROGER N. LEMON      257



Chapter 18, Neural Foundations of Perception and Action in Stone Knapping DIETRICH STOUT       273



Chapter 19, Three-dimensional Analysis of Tool-use Gestures in Apraxic Patients

STEPHANE JACOBS, NEZHA BENNIS & AGNES ROBY-BRAMI           287



Part III, 'Actualizing' Conditions for Innovation in Stone Knapping

Chapter 20, Transfer According to the Means in Human Infants: the Secret to Generative Tool-use?

EMILY W. BUSHNELL, JASON SIDMAN & AMY E. BRUGGER 303



Chapter 21, Tool Use from a Perception-Action Perspective: Developmental and Evolutionary Considerations

JEFFREY J. LOCKMAN        319



Chapter 22, The Social and Cultural Context of Stone-knapping Skill Acquisition

DIETRICH STOUT     331



Chapter 23, Percussive Technology: Chimpanzee Baobab Smashing and the Evolutionary Modelling of Hominin Knapping

LINDA F. MARCHANT & WILLIAM C. MCGREW           341



Part IV, Conclusion

Chapter 24, Synthesis and Speculations

BLANDINE BRIL & VALENTINE ROUX    353



WHERE TO ORDER

ISBN Number 1-902937-34-1 (Hardcover $56.00, ? 35.00)

Published by McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research

University of Cambridge

Downing St. Cambridge, UK, CB2 3ER

Distributed by Oxbow Books

Park End Place, Oxford, OX1 1HN, UK

www.oxbowbooks.com

And in the US by the David Brown Book Company

P.O. Box 511, Oakville, CT 06779, USA.

Direct link to online order form:

UK: http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/43943/OnlyResult/Yes?CFID=11634263&CFTOKEN=62561726

US: http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/43943


Posted Date: March 30, 2006