A probabilistic approach to the assessment of some life history pattern parameters in a Middle Pleistocene human population

Durand, Ana I.; Ipiña, Santiago L.; Castro, José Marı́a Bermúdez de

doi:10.1016/s0025-5564(00)00015-8

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 33 publications

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“…However, time is only costly if it prevents the individual from fulfilling other tasks associated with survival or reproduction and, as such, the modelling of APH time budgets is necessary before Miller's assertion can be credited. However, subjectively, the sum of time associated with skill acquisition and manufacture in combination with the input of physical energy and the debilitating effects of cuts and infection, all within a lifespan which is considerably shorter than our own (Durand et al 2000;Caspari & Lee 2004), suggests that there may have been a considerable survival cost. However, these costs are based upon the assumption that the process of manufacture forms the basis of the display.…”

Section: Costmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why handaxes just aren't that sexy: a response to Kohn & Mithen (1999)

Machin¹

2008

Antiquity

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The Acheulean handaxe is one of the most iconic, analysed and fiercely debated artefacts from the prehistoric period. Persisting for over one million years and recovered from sites across the Old World its distinctive, often symmetrical, tear drop or ovate shape appears to be over-engineered for a subsistence function alone. Debate has centred upon trying to unravel the reasons for this form; raw material, knapping technique, subsistence function, cognition, social context of manufacture and sexual selection have all been proposed as key factors (Jones 1994; White 1998; Gamble 1999; Kohn & Mithen 1999; McPherron 2000; Gowlett 2006).

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Section: Costmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why handaxes just aren't that sexy: a response to Kohn & Mithen (1999)

Machin¹

2008

Antiquity

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2014

Thin on the Ground

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‘Whatever turns you on’: a response to Anna Machin, ‘Why handaxes just aren't that sexy’

Mithen¹

2008

Antiquity

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Evaluating theories and testing hypotheses that relate to the no-longer observable behaviour of hominin species which have no close analogue in the modern world is an obvious challenge. Machin argues that Kohn & Mithen (1999) did not do so in a sufficiently rigorous manner concerning their so-called 'Sexy Handaxe Theory' (SHT). She is right, of course. Indeed how could it be otherwise when there is always room for improvement by subjecting previously published ideas to newly available data-sets and new types of critical thinking. Machin provides some valuable arguments, bringing together a probably unparalleled breadth of knowledge about the archaeological record, evolutionary theory and sexual selection. Ultimately, however, I am not persuaded that she makes handaxes any less sexy than they had previously appeared.

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A probabilistic approach to the assessment of some life history pattern parameters in a Middle Pleistocene human population

Cited by 3 publications

References 33 publications

Why handaxes just aren't that sexy: a response to Kohn & Mithen (1999)

Why handaxes just aren't that sexy: a response to Kohn & Mithen (1999)

References

‘Whatever turns you on’: a response to Anna Machin, ‘Why handaxes just aren't that sexy’

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