‘Homo sapiens’: who are we? Essential traits of our species
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.8.9481Keywords:
hominisation, humanisation, singularity, tools, language, complexity, species
Abstract
In this text we analyse the traits, from their genesis, that constitute current human beings with the objective of characterising the biological and cultural evolution of humanity within the evolutionary framework of our genus. Paleoanthropologists organise our differential traits within the animal kingdom hierarchically: the ability to manufacture a wide range of tools and control fire, language, funeral rituals, etc. However, whether these increases in complexity occurred only in our species or if it is a process which other species have also undergone, or will undergo, remains to be explored.
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Author Biographies
Eudald Carbonell, Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES). He is a professor at the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) in Tarragona (Spain). Atapuerca Foundation.
José María Bermúdez de Castro, National Research Centre on Human Evolution (CENIEH), in Burgos (Spain).
Robert Sala, Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES), Rovira i Virgili University (URV) in Tarragona (Spain).
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