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Is symmetry of stone tools merely an epiphenomenon of similarity?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2003

J. B. Derēgowski
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3UB, Scotlandpsy022@abdn.ac.uk

Abstract

It is proposed that symmetry of stone tools may derive from perceptual similarity rather than from cognitively more complex awareness of symmetry. Although encodement of shapes necessarily involves symmetry (as evidenced by the confusability of enantiomorphs), it does not imply awareness of symmetry. Responses of relatively simple organisms, such as bees, support the notion that the processes involved are likely to be perceptual.

Type
Brief Report
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press

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