Bigger is smarter is better. That's the conventional wisdom for why the human brain gradually became three times larger than the ancestral brain.
"But bigger brains were not generally smarter brains," said neurobiologist William H. Calvin at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Washington, D.C. on Friday, Feb. 18. "Thanks to the archaeologists, we know that our ancestors went through two periods, each lasting more than a million years, when toolmaking techniques didn't gradually improve, despite a lot of gradual brain size increase."
Field school alert This was sent to us by a colleague. Sounds pretty good as students even get paid for working.
Please let your students know about a paid internship opportunity sponsored by
the National Science Foundations Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
program and the University of Michigan. Students will participate in archaeological field work and undertake their own research project, which will become a component of a public outreach project at the Homolovi Ruins State Park in northeastern Arizona. This program is an exciting collaboration between archaeologists with long-term research interests in the Homol'ovi area and museum studies professionals.
Here is website address for information and an application (due April 1,
2005):
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/umma/umma_detail/0,2644,13904%255Farticle%255F26996,00.html
You can also find the information on the Museum of Anthropology website at http://www.lsa.umich.edu/umma, go to the faculty and student resources, then field training opportunity, then Homol'ovi Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program.