While those who study human origins now agree that the evolution of modern human form extends back much further in time than the evolution of modern human behavior, they disagree sharply as to how to interpret the substantive data. Two fundamentally incommensurate interpretations of our origins, the "Replacement" camp and the "Continuity" camp, have now emerged out of pre-existing models and theories that go back to the last quarter of the 19th century. This book contends that these positions are based on radically different biases and assumptions about what the remote human past was like. The purpose of this volume is to examine those conceptual differences, not to arrive at a consensus, but rather to explore the reasons why a consensus might never be possible.

The Neanderthals populated western Europe from nearly 250,000 to 30,000 years ago when they disappeared from the archaeological record. In turn, populations of anatomically modern humans, Homo sapiens, came to dominate the area. Seeking to understand the nature of this replacement, which has become a hotly debated issue, Paul Mellars brings together an unprecedented amount of information on the behavior of Neanderthals. His comprehensive overview ranges from the evidence of tool manufacture and related patterns of lithic technology, through the issues of subsistence and settlement patterns, to the more controversial evidence for social organization, cognition, and intelligence. Mellars argues that previous attempts to characterize Neanderthal behavior as either "modern" or "ape-like" are both overstatements. We can better comprehend the replacement of Neanderthals, he maintains, by concentrating on the social and demographic structure of Neanderthal populations and on their specific adaptations to the harsh ecological conditions of the last glaciation. Mellars's approach to these issues is grounded firmly in his archaeological evidence. He illustrates the implications of these findings by drawing from the methods of comparative socioecology, primate studies, and Pleistocene paleoecology. The book provides a detailed review of the climatic and environmental background to Neanderthal occupation in Europe, and of the currently topical issues of the behavioral and biological transition from Neanderthal to fully "modern" populations.

‘PREMIOS’ ‘Medalla de Plata – Concurso de Libros Favoritos de los Lectores Internacionales y Reseñas de 5 Estrellas’ ‘Premio de Oro al Libro Literario Titan y Reseñas de 5 Estrellas’ ‘Bestseller en Amazon – #1 Historia de Oriente Medio y #2 Historia de Civilizaciones Antiguas’ Los dioses Anunnaki del planeta Nibiru llevaron a cabo una misión en la Tierra, y la historia fue documentada en tabletas de arcilla o textos mesopotámicos descubiertos en las ruinas de edificios en Oriente Medio. Los académicos han propuesto que algunas historias del Génesis ya habían aparecido en textos Mesopotámicos hace miles de años. Esta propuesta nos motivó a evaluar los textos más relevantes. Aunque la mayoría de los académicos creen que los textos mesopotámicos son mitología, la investigación se realizó bajo la premisa de que su contenido corresponde a hechos reales. El análisis de las traducciones académicas de los textos reveló que muchos detalles críticos para comprender la historia no han sido revelados. Un análisis exhaustivo de los datos determinó las fechas más probables de los hechos. El libro presenta los acontecimientos relacionados con la llegada de los Anunnaki a la Tierra y las consecuencias de su misión de manera cronológica según los hallazgos en textos Mesopotámicos y libros antiguos. Diversas fuentes, entre ellas libros apócrifos, informes de historiadores antiguos, investigaciones científicas y registros arqueológicos, complementaron la investigación. Se descifraron muchos enigmas, entre ellos quiénes eran los Anunnaki y los Igigi (vigilantes, Nephilim). ¿Por qué, cuándo y cómo se originó el H. sapiens, cómo surgieron las otras especies y por qué se extinguieron? ¿Por qué y cuándo llegaron los Anunnaki y finalmente abandonaron la Tierra? ¿Cuándo regresará el planeta Nibiru a nuestra zona en el sistema solar interior? Los resultados y hallazgos de esta investigación merecen ser conocidos debido a la probabilidad de que las historias de los textos Mesopotámicos realmente sucedieran. Las propuestas del libro difieren de lo que hemos aprendido en las instituciones educativas sobre el origen de la humanidad e invitan al pensamiento crítico para reflexionar sobre la historia de los dioses Anunnaki. Los lectores entusiastas de la temática extraterrestre encontrarán propuestas innovadoras.

Archaeologies of Cultural Contact undertakes an exploration of cultural transfer, with a particular focus on the combination and modification of both material and behavioural attributes under conditions of contact. From globalization and displacement to cultural legitimization and identity politics, the modern world is characterised by, and articulated through, dynamics of contact and transfer. This book recognises that creolization, ethnogenesis, hybridity, and syncretism are analytical concepts and social processes, relevant not only to the postcolonial contexts of the twentieth century but also to wide-ranging instances where contact is made between cultural groups. Indeed, in representing the re-working of pre-existing cultural elements, they were crucial and ever-present features of the human past. Ranging in their analytical frame, scale, and geographical and temporal location, the chapters in this volume demonstrate the diverse understandings that can be gained from explorations into the material remains of past contact, exposing and overcoming various limitations of competing models of cultural change. They permit insights into not only cultural change and difference but also the processes of appropriation, resistance, redefinition, and incorporation. Together, the contributions articulate the perspectives that concern practices in relations to people, places, and things, and note how power dynamics mediate social interactions and sustain and constrain forms of cultural contact. This book will be of interest to researchers and students in archaeology as well those from cognate disciplines, particularly anthropology and history.