Periodic Reporting for period 2 - eSYMb (The Evolution of Early Symbolic Behavior)
Période du rapport: 2025-03-01 au 2027-08-31
Symbolic behavior is a hallmark of what makes us human. Understanding the unique evolutionary trajectory taken by humanity is impossible without an appreciation of our capacities for symbolic cognition and behavior, which have evolved into the rich and diverse practices of communication, art, reasoning, and ritual surrounding us today. The objective of eSYMb is to develop a data-driven, systematic and scientific approach to the study of early human symbolic behavior and how it evolved during the Paleolithic. This is achieved by directly engaging symbolic artefacts as stimuli in experimental and modeling studies to elucidate their impact on human cognitive processes.
eSYMb builds on the core hypothesis that symbolic artefacts evolved through processes of social transmission and incremental adaptive refinement to become better tools of the mind. We assume that these developments are measurable as cognitive implications of the structural changes to symbolic artefacts, which can be made subject of test and simulations in experiments using the archaeological artefacts as stimuli. Artefacts can serve different symbolic functions, each with their profiling of cognitive affordances. By investigating how different artifacts resonate with processes of, for instance, visual saliency, memory, and discrimination, we can quantitively inform the interpretation of their potential past symbolic use.
From these general hypotheses, the project will generate specific predictions for particular archaeological cases and materials. These are, for instance, repositories of recently published archaeological findings for which we have an extended chronological sequence: a series of artefacts from different periods in time that is an expression of a continuous symbolic practice at the site. However, some case studies also involve data from field work conducted in the context of eSYMb and experimental studies with non-human primates.
The main force of the eSYMb approach is that more traditional archaeological observations are complemented by extensive cognitive measurements allowing to test concrete predictions with state-of-the-art statistical tools and computational methods from the cognitive sciences.
eSYMb builds on the core hypothesis that symbolic artefacts evolved through processes of social transmission and incremental adaptive refinement to become better tools of the mind. We assume that these developments are measurable as cognitive implications of the structural changes to symbolic artefacts, which can be made subject of test and simulations in experiments using the archaeological artefacts as stimuli. Artefacts can serve different symbolic functions, each with their profiling of cognitive affordances. By investigating how different artifacts resonate with processes of, for instance, visual saliency, memory, and discrimination, we can quantitively inform the interpretation of their potential past symbolic use.
From these general hypotheses, the project will generate specific predictions for particular archaeological cases and materials. These are, for instance, repositories of recently published archaeological findings for which we have an extended chronological sequence: a series of artefacts from different periods in time that is an expression of a continuous symbolic practice at the site. However, some case studies also involve data from field work conducted in the context of eSYMb and experimental studies with non-human primates.
The main force of the eSYMb approach is that more traditional archaeological observations are complemented by extensive cognitive measurements allowing to test concrete predictions with state-of-the-art statistical tools and computational methods from the cognitive sciences.
At its conclusion, the project has successfully delivered on its primary objective: to establish and validate a new, data-driven framework for investigating the evolution of early human symbolic behavior. This was achieved by systematically integrating archaeological records with state-of-the-art experimental and computational methods from the cognitive sciences. The main outcomes are:
- An integrative framework for cognitive archaeology defining symbols as culturally evolved cognitive tools. This framework, outlined in publications like Tylén et al. (2024), provides a robust blueprint for testing specific hypotheses about how ancient artifacts were created, perceived, and transmitted. The project pioneered a replicable methodology that combines archaeological evidence with controlled cognitive experiments and computational modeling.
- A validated experimental toolkit to investigate symbolic artifacts. We developed and applied a suite of novel experimental methods to move beyond qualitative interpretation (presented more generally in Wisher & Tylén, 2025 and in Tylén et al 2024). This toolkit includes transmission chain experiments to simulate how different functions (e.g. communication, social identity) shape cultural evolution, psychophysical experiments to test how formal features (e.g. orientation, abbreviation, clustering of traits, symmetries) impact cognitive processes such as perception, memory, recognition and aesthetic appreciation of the artifacts, and a serie of more exploratory techniques e.g. in eye-tracking to quantitatively measure attentional focus on prehistoric art; and extension of basic psychophysical studies across several primate species.
- Quantified links between form and function. The project demonstrated how computational methods can reveal deep evolutionary histories and functional constraints embedded in material culture. A key achievement was using phylogenetic and network analysis on a cross-cultural database of knots to show that an artifact's structural complexity systematically correlates with its function. This data-driven approach demonstrates how our approach can be integrated with large-scale computational analyses to uncover the evolutionary history of material culture and provides a powerful model for linking form to function in a wide range of symbolic systems.
- New insights into the drivers of symbolic evolution. Our research has significantly advanced the understanding of the mechanisms behind symbolic change. We have shown that the evolution of symbolic traditions cannot be explained by a single function but is rather shaped by a dynamic interplay of multiple pragmatic goals (e.g. aesthetics, group identity, communication), production constraints (e.g. motor skills, existing markings, cultural traditions), and fundamental cognitive biases.
- An integrative framework for cognitive archaeology defining symbols as culturally evolved cognitive tools. This framework, outlined in publications like Tylén et al. (2024), provides a robust blueprint for testing specific hypotheses about how ancient artifacts were created, perceived, and transmitted. The project pioneered a replicable methodology that combines archaeological evidence with controlled cognitive experiments and computational modeling.
- A validated experimental toolkit to investigate symbolic artifacts. We developed and applied a suite of novel experimental methods to move beyond qualitative interpretation (presented more generally in Wisher & Tylén, 2025 and in Tylén et al 2024). This toolkit includes transmission chain experiments to simulate how different functions (e.g. communication, social identity) shape cultural evolution, psychophysical experiments to test how formal features (e.g. orientation, abbreviation, clustering of traits, symmetries) impact cognitive processes such as perception, memory, recognition and aesthetic appreciation of the artifacts, and a serie of more exploratory techniques e.g. in eye-tracking to quantitatively measure attentional focus on prehistoric art; and extension of basic psychophysical studies across several primate species.
- Quantified links between form and function. The project demonstrated how computational methods can reveal deep evolutionary histories and functional constraints embedded in material culture. A key achievement was using phylogenetic and network analysis on a cross-cultural database of knots to show that an artifact's structural complexity systematically correlates with its function. This data-driven approach demonstrates how our approach can be integrated with large-scale computational analyses to uncover the evolutionary history of material culture and provides a powerful model for linking form to function in a wide range of symbolic systems.
- New insights into the drivers of symbolic evolution. Our research has significantly advanced the understanding of the mechanisms behind symbolic change. We have shown that the evolution of symbolic traditions cannot be explained by a single function but is rather shaped by a dynamic interplay of multiple pragmatic goals (e.g. aesthetics, group identity, communication), production constraints (e.g. motor skills, existing markings, cultural traditions), and fundamental cognitive biases.
The eSYMb project has advanced the state of the art by fundamentally shifting the study of early human symbolic behavior from a largely interpretive discipline to a hypothesis-driven, experimental science. Prior to this project, inferences about the function of Paleolithic symbolic artifacts were based primarily on qualitative analysis, leading to persistent and often unresolvable debates. eSYMb has introduced a rigorous, replicable, and data-driven framework that makes these long-standing questions empirically tractable. Our results not only provide novel insights into specific archaeological cases but also establish a new methodological paradigm with far-reaching potential.
In doing so, the work extended even beyond the original scope of the project: i) guiding archeological fieldwork on Paleolithic cave art in sites like Monte Castillo and the interpretation of the findings; ii) extending our experimental work to non-human primates (chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans; iii) providing conceptual and experimental frameworks to other international projects such as the NSF-funded project “A Network Approach to Magdalenian Social Landscapes.”
To ensure the long-term impact and successful uptake of the eSYMb framework, the following key needs have been identified:
- Further Research and Methodological Expansion: The framework must be applied to a broader range of archaeological materials from different periods to test its generalizability. Future studies incorporating learning and teaching paradigms as well as tracking of the motions involved in the production of the artifacts would provide deeper insight into the processes involved.
- Infrastructure for Open, Cumulative Science: A critical next step is developing a centralized, open-access database that links high-resolution representations of artifacts to rich meta-data and perhaps experimental cognitive data. This would create an invaluable resource for the global research community and facilitate large-scale, cumulative science.
- Interdisciplinary Training and Collaboration: The success of this approach relies on researchers fluent in both archaeology and cognitive science. There is a clear need for targeted training programs, such as international workshops and joint PhDs, to cultivate these interdisciplinary skills for the next generation of researchers.
In doing so, the work extended even beyond the original scope of the project: i) guiding archeological fieldwork on Paleolithic cave art in sites like Monte Castillo and the interpretation of the findings; ii) extending our experimental work to non-human primates (chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans; iii) providing conceptual and experimental frameworks to other international projects such as the NSF-funded project “A Network Approach to Magdalenian Social Landscapes.”
To ensure the long-term impact and successful uptake of the eSYMb framework, the following key needs have been identified:
- Further Research and Methodological Expansion: The framework must be applied to a broader range of archaeological materials from different periods to test its generalizability. Future studies incorporating learning and teaching paradigms as well as tracking of the motions involved in the production of the artifacts would provide deeper insight into the processes involved.
- Infrastructure for Open, Cumulative Science: A critical next step is developing a centralized, open-access database that links high-resolution representations of artifacts to rich meta-data and perhaps experimental cognitive data. This would create an invaluable resource for the global research community and facilitate large-scale, cumulative science.
- Interdisciplinary Training and Collaboration: The success of this approach relies on researchers fluent in both archaeology and cognitive science. There is a clear need for targeted training programs, such as international workshops and joint PhDs, to cultivate these interdisciplinary skills for the next generation of researchers.