Brains, innovations, tools and cultural transmission in birds, non-human primates and fossil hominins
Recent work on birds and non-human primates has shown that taxonomic differences in field measures of innovation, tool use and social learning are associated with size of the mammalian cortex and avian mesopallium and nidopallium, as well as ecological traits like colonization success. Here, I revie...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2013-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00245/full |
| _version_ | 1819183292396601344 |
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| author | Louis eLefebvre |
| author_facet | Louis eLefebvre |
| author_sort | Louis eLefebvre |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent work on birds and non-human primates has shown that taxonomic differences in field measures of innovation, tool use and social learning are associated with size of the mammalian cortex and avian mesopallium and nidopallium, as well as ecological traits like colonization success. Here, I review this literature and suggest that many of its findings are relevant to hominin intelligence. In particular, our large brains and increased intelligence may be partly independent of our ape phylogeny and the result of convergent processes similar to those that have moulded avian and platyrrhine intelligence. Tool use, innovativeness and cultural transmission might be linked over our past and in our brains as operations of domain-general intelligence. Finally, colonization of new areas may have accompanied increases in both brain size and innovativeness in hominins as they have in other mammals and in birds, potentially accelerating hominin evolution via behavioral drive. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T22:59:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8ca13c812bbe4460a390eec33e91e79f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T22:59:42Z |
| publishDate | 2013-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-8ca13c812bbe4460a390eec33e91e79f2022-12-21T18:09:43ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612013-06-01710.3389/fnhum.2013.0024551208Brains, innovations, tools and cultural transmission in birds, non-human primates and fossil homininsLouis eLefebvre0McGill UniversityRecent work on birds and non-human primates has shown that taxonomic differences in field measures of innovation, tool use and social learning are associated with size of the mammalian cortex and avian mesopallium and nidopallium, as well as ecological traits like colonization success. Here, I review this literature and suggest that many of its findings are relevant to hominin intelligence. In particular, our large brains and increased intelligence may be partly independent of our ape phylogeny and the result of convergent processes similar to those that have moulded avian and platyrrhine intelligence. Tool use, innovativeness and cultural transmission might be linked over our past and in our brains as operations of domain-general intelligence. Finally, colonization of new areas may have accompanied increases in both brain size and innovativeness in hominins as they have in other mammals and in birds, potentially accelerating hominin evolution via behavioral drive.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00245/fullBraincultural transmissioninnovationnon-human primatebirdtool |
| spellingShingle | Louis eLefebvre Brains, innovations, tools and cultural transmission in birds, non-human primates and fossil hominins Frontiers in Human Neuroscience Brain cultural transmission innovation non-human primate bird tool |
| title | Brains, innovations, tools and cultural transmission in birds, non-human primates and fossil hominins |
| title_full | Brains, innovations, tools and cultural transmission in birds, non-human primates and fossil hominins |
| title_fullStr | Brains, innovations, tools and cultural transmission in birds, non-human primates and fossil hominins |
| title_full_unstemmed | Brains, innovations, tools and cultural transmission in birds, non-human primates and fossil hominins |
| title_short | Brains, innovations, tools and cultural transmission in birds, non-human primates and fossil hominins |
| title_sort | brains innovations tools and cultural transmission in birds non human primates and fossil hominins |
| topic | Brain cultural transmission innovation non-human primate bird tool |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00245/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT louiselefebvre brainsinnovationstoolsandculturaltransmissioninbirdsnonhumanprimatesandfossilhominins |