The path to cultural modernity and behavioral hyperplasticity: A synthesis of a lecture series at the IVPP, Beijing

摘要

This paper provides a schematic summary of the topics during the lecture series by Professor Nicholas J. Conard at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, focusing on the methodological issues and researches at four topics:1) Schoningen, 2) Sibudu and other Middle Stone Age(MSA) sites in South Africa, 3) excavations at Tonchesberg, Wallertheim and other Neanderthal sites, 4) the caves of the Swabian Jura and the origins of art and music. Knowledge of excavation methods of his team, archaeological material in a broader context, and research achievements based upon the sites he is working on were shared by the lecture series. The lectures were also intended to foster international cooperation in teaching and research in future.