Early Evolution of Human Memory

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. What This Book Is About

   • Héctor M. Manrique, Michael J. Walker

   Pages 1-10

3. Tool-Use by Great Apes in the Wild

   • Héctor M. Manrique, Michael J. Walker

   Pages 11-19

4. Great Apes, Tools , and Cognition

   • Héctor M. Manrique, Michael J. Walker

   Pages 21-60

5. Early Tool-Making and the Evolution of Human Memory Systems in the Brain

   • Héctor M. Manrique, Michael J. Walker

   Pages 61-120

6. Concluding Remarks

   • Héctor M. Manrique, Michael J. Walker

   Pages 121-129

7. Back Matter

   Pages 131-150

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This work examines the cognitive capacity of great apes in order to better understand early man and the importance of memory in the evolutionary process. It synthesizes research from comparative cognition, neuroscience, primatology as well as lithic archaeology, reviewing findings on the cognitive ability of great apes to recognize the physical properties of an object and then determine the most effective way in which to manipulate it as a tool to achieve a specific goal. The authors argue that apes (Hominoidea) lack the human cognitive ability of imagining how to blend reality, which requires drawing on memory in order to envisage alternative future situations, and thereby modifying behavior determined by procedural memory. This book reviews neuroscientific findings on short-term working memory, long-term procedural memory, prospective memory, and imaginative forward thinking in relation to manual behavior. Since the manipulation of objects by Hominoidea in the wild (particularly in order to obtain food) is regarded as underlying the evolution of behavior in early Hominids, contrasts are highlighted between the former and the latter, especially the cognitive implications of ancient stone-tool preparation. 

• Cognitive Psychology
• Cognitive Evolution
• Human Evolution
• Early Evolution
• Primatology
• Great Apes
• Tool-making
• Tool-use
• Palaeolithic Era
• Cognitive Capacity
• Memory
• Human Memory Systems
• Brain
• Technological Developments
• Palaeolithic Technology
• Neuroanatomy

• University of Zaragoza , Puertomingalvo, Spain

  Héctor M. Manrique

• Biology, Murcia University Biology, Murcia, Spain

  Michael J. Walker

Michael J. Walker is Honorific Emeritus Professor in the Department of Zoology & Physical Anthropology at University of Murcia, Spain


Héctor M. Manrique is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology & Sociology at University of Zaragoza, Spain