The Rise of Homo sapiens is an introduction to human cognitive evolution written by psychologist Frederick L. Coolidge and archaeologist Thomas Wynn. The text differs from other treatments of cognitive evolution in its reliance on the archaeological record, and its emphasis on working memory, the most thoroughly investigated cognitive model of the last half-century.

• List of Figures


• 1. Introduction


• 2. The Brain


• 3. Working Memory


• 4. Brain Evolution


• 5. Primates


• 6. Early Hominins


• 7. Homo erectus


• 8. The First Major Leap in Cognition: The Tree-to-Ground Sleep Transition


• 9. Homo heidelbergensis and the Beginnings of Modern Thinking


• 10. The Rise and Fall of Neandertals


• 11. Enhanced Working Memory and the Evolution of Modern Thinking


• Glossary


• References


• Index

Thomas Wynn, PhD, is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He has published extensively in Palaeolithic archaeology, with a particular emphasis on cognitive evolution.
Frederick L. Coolidge, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He focuses primarily on behavioral genetics, paleopsychology, and personality disorders across the lifespan.
Both editors are well-known in paleoanthropology as advocates of the enhanced working memory hypothesis for recent cognitive evolution. In 2012, they co-founded the UCCS Center for Cognitive Archaeology. They have also published numerous articles and books together, including How To Think Like a Neandertal (OUP 2012) and Cognitive Models in Palaeolithic Archaeology (OUP 2016).