Traces of the Distant Human Past offers a critical examination of early human behavior by challenging traditional narratives and pushing for a more scientific, theoretically informed approach to archaeology. Emphasizing the importance of understanding early humans within their environmental context, the contributors to this volume propose a shift towards theoretical frameworks and ecological perspectives in archaeological research. They highlight the scarcity of well-preserved archaeologic...

This two-volume set of IFIP-AICT 675 and 676 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 19th IFIP WG 12.5 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence Applications and Innovations, AIAI 2023, held in León, Spain, during June 14–17, 2023. This event was held in hybrid mode.The 75 regular papers and 17 short papers presented in this two-volume set were carefully reviewed and selected from 185 submissions. The papers cover the following topics: Deep Learning (Reinforcement/Rec...

Reconstructing Olduvai: The Behavior of Early Humans at David's Site provides the necessary information for future generations of archaeologists to peer into the lifestyle of early humans. Much of what is known about these hominins originates from the detailed excavations that Mary Leakey carried out at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. Since then, work at Olduvai has produced a wealth of new fossils, resulting in the discovery of David's Site, the biggest early Pleistocene site in the world. Its...

Have you ever been alone just folding clothes or maybe even just doing a little spring cleaning? Ever had that sensation of being watched or followed? Everyone has felt that at least once in a lifetime. You get goose bumps, you feel a rush, your heart beats faster, the hair in the back of your head stands up, and you look around to see who or what is there even though you know that you are home alone. That is the feeling of fear. Imagine something worse. Imagine looking around and actually...

This book presents advances in computational methods, experimental synthesis, and advanced characterizations for novel catalytic materials. The authors show how catalytical materials can be used for various engineering oil & gas applications – mainly in low contaminants fuel production. All contributors, describe in detail novel experimental and theoretical techniques techniques and concepts for synthesis, evaluation and scaling catalytic materials and research advances in evaluation, exte...

This two-volume set of IFIP-AICT 675 and 676 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 19th IFIP WG 12.5 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence Applications and Innovations, AIAI 2023, held in León, Spain, during June 14–17, 2023. This event was held in hybrid mode.The 75 regular papers and 17 short papers presented in this two-volume set were carefully reviewed and selected from 185 submissions. The papers cover the following topics: Deep Learning (Reinforcement/Rec...

The stone tools and fossil bones from the earliest archaeological sites in Africa have been used over the past fifty years to create models that interpret how early hominins lived, foraged, behaved and communicated and how early and modern humans evolved. In this book, an international team of archaeologists and primatologists examines early Stone Age tools and bones and uses scientific methods to test alternative hypotheses that explain the archaeological record. By focusing on both lithi...

There have been many books, movies, and even TV commercials featuring Neandertals--some serious, some comical. But what was it really like to be a Neandertal? How were their lives similar to or different from ours? In How to Think Like a Neandertal, archaeologist Thomas Wynn and psychologist Frederick L. Coolidge team up to provide a brilliant account of the mental life of Neandertals, drawing on the most recent fossil and archaeological remains. Indeed, some Neandertal remains are not fos...

A fascinating and incisive examination of our language instinct from award-winning science writer Steven Mithen.Along with the concepts of consciousness and intelligence, our capacity for language sits right at the core of what makes us human. But while the evolutionary origins of language have provoked speculation and impassioned debate, music has been neglected if not ignored. Like language it is a universal feature of human culture, one that is a permanent fixtu...

There exists an undeniable chasm between the capacities of humans and those of animals. Our minds have spawned civilizations and technologies that have changed the face of the Earth, whereas even our closest animal relatives sit unobtrusively in their dwindling habitats. Yet despite longstanding debates, the nature of this apparent gap has remained unclear. What exactly is the difference between our minds and theirs?In The Gap, psychologist Thomas Suddendorf provides a def...

"The name Leakey is synonymous with the study of human origins," wrote The New York Times. The renowned family of paleontologists -- Louis Leakey, Mary Leakey, and their son Richard Leakey -- has vastly expanded our understanding of human evolution. The Origin of Humankind is Richard Leakey's personal view of the development of Homo Sapiens. At the heart of his new picture of evolution is the introduction of a heretical notion: once the first apes walked upright, the evol...

It’s Christmas Eve and Walt Shuster has reached a crossroads in his life. Not certain which way to turn, he stops off for a drink at a rustic roadhouse along the way that seems filled with the holiday spirit. It doesn’t take him long to realize what a truly special place this is!This story is my Christmas, Hanukah, Quanza, Winter Solstice gift to you all. No matter how, or with whom you may share this special season, enjoy!