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Evidence of recursion in tool use

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2012

Lluís Barceló-Coblijn  and
Antoni Gomila
Lluís Barceló-Coblijn
Affiliation:
Human Evolution and Cognition Group, University of the Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma. toni.gomila@uib.catlluis.barcelo@uib.cathttp://evocog.org/
Antoni Gomila
Affiliation:
Human Evolution and Cognition Group, University of the Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma. toni.gomila@uib.catlluis.barcelo@uib.cathttp://evocog.org/
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Abstract

We discuss the discovery of technologies involving knotted netting, such as textiles, basketry, and cordage, in the Upper Paleolithic. This evidence, in our view, suggests a new way of connecting toolmaking and syntactic structure in human evolution, because these technologies already exhibit an “infinite use of finite means,” which we take to constitute the key transition to human cognition.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 35 , Issue 4 , August 2012 , pp. 219 - 220
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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