RUcore: Rutgers University Community Repository
An individual-based comparative advantage model: did economic specialization mediate the fluctuating climate of the late Pleistocene during the transition from Neanderthals to modern humans?
Descriptive
TitleInfo
Title
An individual-based comparative advantage model: did economic specialization mediate the fluctuating climate of the late Pleistocene during the transition from Neanderthals to modern humans?
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Smith
NamePart
(type = given)
Ronald F.
NamePart
(type = date)
1938-
DisplayForm
Ronald Smith
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RUETD)
author
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Anton
NamePart
(type = given)
Susan
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
DisplayForm
Susan Anton
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
chair
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Cronk
NamePart
(type = given)
Lee
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
DisplayForm
Lee Cronk
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
internal member
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Cachel
NamePart
(type = given)
Susan
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
DisplayForm
Susan Cachel
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
internal member
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Xu
NamePart
(type = given)
Ming
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
DisplayForm
Ming Xu
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
outside member
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
White
NamePart
(type = given)
Randall
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
DisplayForm
Randall White
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
outside member
Name
(type = corporate)
NamePart
Rutgers University
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
degree grantor
Name
(type = corporate)
NamePart
Graduate School-New Brunswick
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
school
TypeOfResource
Text
Genre
(authority = marcgt)
theses
OriginInfo
DateCreated
(encoding = w3cdtf);
(qualifier = exact)
2007
DateOther
(encoding = w3cdtf);
(qualifier = exact);
(type = degree)
2007
Language
LanguageTerm
(authority = ISO 639-3:2007);
(type = text)
English
PhysicalDescription
Form
(authority = marcform)
electronic
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
xiii, 459 pages
Abstract
(type = abstract)
Anthropologists continue to debate the grounds for the survival of anatomically modern humans and the demise of the Neanderthals. One important distinction between the two groups may be the level of economic cooperation. I present a model for quantifying the benefits of within-group economic cooperation by examining all facets of productive, economic activity critical to survival in the fluctuating climate of Europe at the time of the transition from Neanderthals to Early Modern humans. The model's decision making engine is based on David Ricardo's Law of Comparative Advantage. Data from the prehistoric archaeological and physical anthropological records define the main economic parameters of the model: group size, task repertoire, and individual skill variation. Settlement patterns for both groups are based on individual site data, climate, and periods of occupation. Climate records, derived from ice-cores, terrestrial cores, and paleoclimate reconstructions define the climatic input for the model.
The model presented here covers new ground in that it addresses within-group individual skills across all tasks critical to survival, and not just foraging. It addresses the impact on individual and group survival, and it illustrates the importance of diversity and cooperation in stressful, climatic situations.
The archaeological data suggests that early modern humans performed a wider range of activities and tasks, congregated in larger groups, and possibly had a more diverse range of skills than Neanderthals. The model shows that all members of the group benefit when each task is assigned to that individual most proficient in the performance of that task, and when the resulting outputs are equitably distributed among the group members: the benefits achieved through cooperation by the early moderns are in the range of 17-19%, and by Neanderthals in the range of 11-13%. Settlement patterns in Europe indicate that early moderns moved into higher latitudes and colder zones than Neanderthals, despite the fact that severe and abrupt climate swings occurred during this period. This implies that economic cooperative behavior might have been an important adaptive response to the deteriorating climate of the time, and that such behavior enabled the modern humans to out-survive the Neanderthals.
The model presented here covers new ground in that it addresses within-group individual skills across all tasks critical to survival, and not just foraging. It addresses the impact on individual and group survival, and it illustrates the importance of diversity and cooperation in stressful, climatic situations.
The archaeological data suggests that early modern humans performed a wider range of activities and tasks, congregated in larger groups, and possibly had a more diverse range of skills than Neanderthals. The model shows that all members of the group benefit when each task is assigned to that individual most proficient in the performance of that task, and when the resulting outputs are equitably distributed among the group members: the benefits achieved through cooperation by the early moderns are in the range of 17-19%, and by Neanderthals in the range of 11-13%. Settlement patterns in Europe indicate that early moderns moved into higher latitudes and colder zones than Neanderthals, despite the fact that severe and abrupt climate swings occurred during this period. This implies that economic cooperative behavior might have been an important adaptive response to the deteriorating climate of the time, and that such behavior enabled the modern humans to out-survive the Neanderthals.
Note
(type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note
(type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references (p. 422-458).
Subject
(authority = RUETD)
Topic
Anthropology
Subject
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Economic anthropology
Subject
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Neanderthals
Subject
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Paleolithic period
RelatedItem
(type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier
(type = local)
rucore19991600001
Identifier
(type = hdl)
http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.2/rucore10001600001.ETD.13728
Identifier
ETD_149
Identifier
(type = doi)
doi:10.7282/T3RX9CJC
Location
PhysicalLocation
(authority = marcorg);
(displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
NjNbRU
Genre
(authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD doctoral
Back to the top
Rights
RightsDeclaration
(AUTHORITY = GS);
(ID = rulibRdec0006)
The author owns the copyright to this work.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
AssociatedEntity
(AUTHORITY = rulib);
(ID = 1)
Name
Ronald Smith
Role
Copyright holder
Affiliation
Rutgers University. Graduate School-New Brunswick
RightsEvent
(AUTHORITY = rulib);
(ID = 1)
Type
Permission or license
Detail
Non-exclusive ETD license
AssociatedObject
(AUTHORITY = rulib);
(ID = 1)
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
Back to the top
Technical
Format
(TYPE = mime);
(VERSION = )
application/x-tar
FileSize
(UNIT = bytes)
3675136
Checksum
(METHOD = SHA1)
2459884ce17f95d75db25ea6fdf87bb9f8eb9867
ContentModel
ETD
CompressionScheme
other
OperatingSystem
(VERSION = 5.1)
windows xp
Format
(TYPE = mime);
(VERSION = NULL)
application/x-tar
Back to the top
Statistical Profile