Personal Ornaments and the Emergence of Symbolic Behaviour

Osobni ornamenti predstavljaju jedan od najranijih tragova simboličnog ponašanja, a time i kognitivnog razvoja. Ova vrsta nalaza često se smatra nekom vrstom komunikacijske tehnologije, a prema nekima i pokazateljem akvizicije jezika. Grupu najranijih osobnih ornamenata povezanih s anatomski modernim čovjekom čine perforirane ljušture školjaka i pužića. Što se tiče neandertalaca, dugo se smatralo kako njihova kognicija nije ravna onoj anatomski modernih ljudi no nalazi osobnih ornamenata govore suprotno. Ornamenti načinjeni od kandži orla pronađeni su na širokom geografskom području na nalazištima povezanim s neandertalcima te su se zadržali u širokom vremenskom periodu.Personal ornaments represent one of the earliest traces of symbolic behaviour, and as such of cognitive development. These objects are often considered a form of communication technology, and according to some, an indicator of language acquisition. The group of earliest personal ornaments associated with anatomically modern human consists of perforated shells. As for Neanderthals, it was long believed that their cognition was not equal to that of anatomically modern humans, but findings of personal ornaments suggest the opposite. Ornaments made of raptor talons have been found over a wide geographical area, at sites associated with Neanderthals, and have been used over a wide time span