THE PREHISTORY OF THE MIND A search for the origins of art, science and religion

MITHEN, Steven

ISBN 10: 0500050813 / ISBN 13: 9780500050811

Published by Thames and Hudson, London, 1996

About this Item

Brown cloth cover. 288 pp., 70 ills; prev.owner's inscrip.fr.endpaper, a near fine copy marred by faint edge-browning throughout due to use of high acid paper for which there was no excuse by 1996, esp. for a publisher like T.& H. Could be classified as 'evolutionary psychology', though much better than most ev.psy.texts.

Seller Inventory # 005812

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE PREHISTORY OF THE MIND A search for the origins of art, science and religion
• Publisher: Thames and Hudson, London
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0500050813
• ISBN 13: 9780500050811
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Ed
• Condition: VG-Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: VG-Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Prehistory to Roman. All subjects

About this title

Synopsis

This study applies the insights of archaeology to some of the most fundamental and contentious issues in human evolution. Since the 1980s a modular concept of the mind has been put forward which likens the mind to a Swiss Army knife with its collection of specialist blades and tools - the mind is seen as a collection of specialized "intelligences" or modules, each suited for a specific purpose. The study seeks to answer the questions raised by this new theory such as "How many modules are there and how do they connect?", "How can one account for human creativity and imagination?" and "How could such a mind have evolved?". It argues that only archaeology can provide the long-term perspective necessary to understand the origins of the modern mind. It shows how the world of our ancestors has shaped the modern mind and offers a challenging explanation of what it means to be human.

Book Description

Award-winning science writer Steven Mithen explores how an understanding of our ancestors and their development can illuminate our brains and behaviour today.