Neanderthals in Platos Cave

Having read George Steiner’s monograph I can confirm that I find it a most impressive achievement. This volume is on the very cutting edge of research in the field it addresses. Its author is certainly one of the most innovative writers on the subject of cognitive human evolution. Here he proposes a volume dedicated to the role of neoteny in hominin evolution, particularly its cultural dimensions. What is from my perspective the most impressive aspect of the work is the exploration of the role exograms played in this. Exograms, ‘memory traces’ stored outside the brain, are the most significant factor in cognitive evolution, and yet they are arguably the most neglected. So far, only two authors have ever considered them in any detail since the late 1980s, despite their fundamental importance in the question of what makes us human, and how we managed to experience the world in a conscious format. Steiner corrects this imbalance, and for that reason alone his book holds great promise. His encyclopedic knowledge of the generic subject and his most innovative patterns of reasoning have produced a truly worthwhile addition to the rather limited literature on the topic. An aspect I find particularly important is that Steiner did not approach this discipline from the evolutionary perspective initially, but from the direction of a desire to understand the products of human cognition, through his work with paleoart, specifically rock art. Therefore he is not stuck in a particular epistemological groove, but has cultivated the ability to see the issues in an inter-disciplinary perspective.

— Prof. Robert G. Bednarik
Convener and Editor-in-Chief,
International Federation of Rock Art Organizations (IFRAO)

Dupa ce am citit monografia lui George Steiner, pot confirma ca mi se pare o realizare impresionanta. Acest volum se afla in ultima perioada a cercetarii in domeniul pe care il abordeaza.