We will be holding a one-day cultural event on Saturday 14 December consisting of a series of short talks led by experts from within Archaeology at Southampton.
This thought provoking and inspiring conference will provide you with the opportunity to learn and engage in discussion about human origins from academics of international distinction.
When and how did we become human? What are the key features that make humans ‘human’? The Old Stone Age (Palaeolithic) is commonly assumed to be a period of little or no change, with humans only becoming fully intelligent and “civilised” once they start practising agriculture and living in settled communities. Researchers from the Centre for the Archaeology of Human Origins, University of Southampton, will dispel such prejudices by examining how funerary practices, economies, technology, art and music developed and changed over time and space, in the broader context of increasing brain sizes and rapidly changing environments.
Innovations we take for granted today, such as networking, funerary practices, spoken language, music, art, ceramic technology and the control of energy were all developed in the Old Stone Age, and we shall explore how and why they arose.
Change and innovation in the Old Stone Age is not inexorable and universal, but mosaic and piecemeal, with some brilliant innovations being invented repeatedly at different times and in different places. During the study day, you will also have the opportunity to handle archaeological artefacts and skeletal fossil casts.
To find out more and book your place please visit: http://southampton.likn.co/lifelonglearning/news/events/2013/12/14_human_origins.page?