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Archaeologies of Attachment: Understanding Social Relationships, Material Culture, Religion and Place
Abstract
The notion that humans form socio-emotional bonds with other people is an underlying assumption of much archaeological work on social life in the past. Yet we have been slower to recognise the emotional role of non-humans. From our relationships with objects, animals, religious beliefs and important places, we can gain intense, palpable feelings of security, which impact our cognition and social behaviour, and which provide a wealth of benefits to our mental and physical health and well-being too. In this paper, I discuss how the psychological theory of attachment may provide useful insights into a variety of interpersonal and non-human socio-emotional relationships, helping us to understand why and how humans form attachment bonds. I will also discuss the significant, yet understudied, role played by so-called ‘compensatory’ attachment figures such as companion animals and cherished possessions. Attachment theory provides a simple, yet useful, framework with which to think about bonds in the past, and so allows us to broaden our conception of who—and what—plays an important role in our social and emotional lives. This has broader relevance in the modern world for how we think about concepts such as emotional resilience, material relationships and the significance of our social lives. Humans are, at heart, intensely social creatures, and thinking about the nature of our social lives and the role of attachment provides exciting insights into life in the past.
... At the same time, attachment is not limited to human relationships. Children and adults alike form attachments to inanimate objects, such as toys or comfort items, which provide emotional security (Bell, 2024;Bell & Spikins, 2018). The introduction of AI-driven technologies further complicates these relational dynamics, as social robots are designed to simulate human-like responsiveness, fostering emotional connections akin to those with pets or caregivers (Robertson, 2007). ...
The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into early childhood education (ECE) presents transformative possibilities but raises urgent ethical challenges that demand immediate attention. This scoping review examines 42 studies to explore key ethical concerns in four interconnected areas: data privacy, impacts on child development, algorithmic bias, and regulatory frameworks. Findings reveal significant gaps in safeguarding children’s sensitive data, with inadequate protections against breaches, profiling, and misuse. Emotional AI tools, such as social robots and emotion-recognition technologies, offer novel learning opportunities but risk undermining relational learning and fostering overreliance, manipulation, or loss of autonomy. The lack of developmentally appropriate design in AI systems further exacerbates these risks, failing to align technological solutions with the unique needs of young learners. Algorithmic bias, driven by non-representative datasets, perpetuates systemic inequities, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities and eroding fairness. Regulatory frameworks are fragmented and inconsistent, often lacking provisions tailored to the vulnerabilities of children or mechanisms for global enforcement. To address these challenges, this study highlights the urgency of establishing global frameworks that prioritize transparency, data minimization, and cultural inclusivity. Engaging educators, parents, and children in participatory governance is essential to align AI design with developmental needs and uphold children’s rights. These findings underscore the need for immediate and sustained efforts to ensure that AI systems in ECE foster equitable and ethical learning environments, safeguarding the well-being of young learners while advancing innovation responsibly.
In Hidden Depths, Professor Penny Spikins explores how our emotional connections have shaped human ancestry. Focusing on three key transitions in human origins, Professor Spikins explains how the emotional capacities of our early ancestors evolved in response to ecological changes, much like similar changes in other social mammals. For each transition, dedicated chapters examine evolutionary pressures, responses in changes in human emotional capacities and the archaeological evidence for human social behaviours. Starting from our earliest origins, in Part One, Professor Spikins explores how after two million years ago, movement of human ancestors into a new ecological niche drove new types of collaboration, including care for vulnerable members of the group. Emotional adaptations lead to cognitive changes, as new connections based on compassion, generosity, trust and inclusion also changed our relationship to material things. Part Two explores a later key transition in human emotional capacities occurring after 300,000 years ago. At this time changes in social tolerance allowed ancestors of our own species to further reach out beyond their local group and care about distant allies, making human communities resilient to environmental changes. An increasingly close relationship to animals, and even to cherished possessions, appeared at this time, and can be explained through new human vulnerabilities and ways of seeking comfort and belonging. Lastly, Part Three focuses on the contrasts in emotional dispositions arising between ourselves and our close cousins, the Neanderthals. Neanderthals are revealed as equally caring yet emotionally different humans, who might, if things had been different, have been in our place today. This new narrative breaks away from traditional views of human evolution as exceptional or as a linear progression towards a more perfect form. Instead, our evolutionary history is situated within similar processes occurring in other mammals, and explained as one in which emotions, rather than ‘intellect’, were key to our evolutionary journey. Moreover, changes in emotional capacities and dispositions are seen as part of differing pathways each bringing strengths, weaknesses and compromises. These hidden depths provide an explanation for many of the emotional sensitivities and vulnerabilities which continue to influence our world today.
The Upper Palaeolithic double burial of newborns and the single burial of a ca. 3-month-old infant uncovered at the Gravettian site of Krems-Wachtberg, Austria, are of paramount importance given the rarity of immature human remains from this time. Genome-wide ancient DNA shows that the male infants of the double grave are the earliest reported case of monozygotic twins, while the single grave´s individual was their 3rd-degree male relative. We assessed the individuals´ age at death by applying histological and μCT inspection of the maxillary second incisors (i2) in conjunction with C- and N-isotope ratios and Barium (Ba) intake as biomarker for breastfeeding. The results show that the twins were full-term newborns, and that while individual 2 died at birth, individual 1 survived for about 50 days. The findings show that Gravettian mortuary behaviour also included re-opening of a grave and manipulation of its layout and content.
Objectives
Loneliness is a significant public health issue. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in lockdown measures limiting social contact. The UK public are worried about the impact of these measures on mental health outcomes. Understanding the prevalence and predictors of loneliness at this time is a priority issue for research.
Method
The study employed a cross-sectional online survey design. Baseline data collected between March 23rd and April 24th 2020 from UK adults in the COVID-19 Psychological Wellbeing Study were analysed (N = 1964, 18–87 years, M = 37.11, SD = 12.86, 70% female). Logistic regression analysis examined the influence of sociodemographic, social, health and COVID-19 specific factors on loneliness.
Results
The prevalence of loneliness was 27% (530/1964). Risk factors for loneliness were younger age group (OR: 4.67–5.31), being separated or divorced (OR: 2.29), scores meeting clinical criteria for depression (OR: 1.74), greater emotion regulation difficulties (OR: 1.04), and poor quality sleep due to the COVID-19 crisis (OR: 1.30). Higher levels of social support (OR: 0.92), being married/co-habiting (OR: 0.35) and living with a greater number of adults (OR: 0.87) were protective factors.
Conclusions
Rates of loneliness during the initial phase of lockdown were high. Risk factors were not specific to the COVID-19 crisis. Findings suggest that supportive interventions to reduce loneliness should prioritise younger people and those with mental health symptoms. Improving emotion regulation and sleep quality, and increasing social support may be optimal initial targets to reduce the impact of COVID-19 regulations on mental health outcomes.
Attachment theory deals with the development and dynamics of interpersonal affectional bonds. It also provides a framework for understanding individuals’ relationship with God, which is central to religion. We review basic concepts of attachment theory and survey research that has examined religion both in terms of normative attachment processes and individual differences in attachment. We cite evidence from cross-sectional, experimental, and longitudinal studies showing that many religious individuals experience God as a source of resilience (e.g., a safe haven and secure base). We also summarize proposed attachment-related developmental pathways to religion. Finally, we review research on religion and mental health undertaken from an attachment viewpoint and discuss future directions.
Clinical and personality research consistently demonstrates that people can form unhealthy and problematic attachments to material possessions. To better understand this tendency, the current paper extends past research demonstrating that anxieties about other people motivate these attachments. These findings suggest that although object attachment generally correlates with poorer well-being, it may attenuate well-being deficits associated with insecurity about close relationships. The current paper presents two studies using converging correlational (N = 394) and diary methods (N = 413) to test whether object attachments’ association with poorer well-being is moderated by relationship uncertainties. We find that both trait (Study 1) and state (Study 2) insecurities about others eliminated, and in some cases reversed, the negative psychological correlates of object attachment. These effects, however, were only observed when focusing on between-person variation in both studies; within-person analysis demonstrated that state variation in object attachment predicted better psychological well-being. These results highlight a need for more nuanced studies of object attachment and well-being.
Childhood and adolescence are two stages of development that are unique to the human life course. While childhood in the Pleistocene has received considerable attention in recent years, adolescence during the same period remains an understudied area of research. Yet it is during adolescence that key social, physical and cognitive milestones are reached. Thus, through studying adolescents, there is enormous potential for improving our understanding of Upper Palaeolithic lifeways more broadly. The reason for the dearth of these types of studies may be the perceived methodological difficulty of identifying adolescents in the archaeological record. In many ways, it is easier to distinguish children (sensu lato) from adults based on size, developmental age and associated artefacts. Adolescents, however, are often seen as more ambiguous, more liminal. Working within an evolutionary framework and using a definition of adolescence rooted in biology, we draw on psychology, ethnography and palaeodemography to develop a model of what it might have meant to be a ‘teenager’ in the European Upper Palaeolithic. Citing the biological, social and cognitive changes that occur during this life stage, we propose an important role of teenagers in the origins and spread of new ideas and innovations throughout the Late Pleistocene.
Research in developmental psychology suggests that children are poor tool innovators. However, such research often overlooks the ways in which children's social and physical environments may lead to cross-cultural variation in their opportunities and proclivity to innovate. In this paper, we examine contemporary hunter-gatherer child and adolescent contributions to tool innovation. We posit that the cultural and subsistence context of many hunter-gatherer societies fosters behavioural flexibility, including innovative capabilities. Using the ethnographic and developmental literature, we suggest that socialisation practices emphasised in hunter-gatherer societies, including learning through autonomous exploration, adult and peer teaching, play and innovation seeking may bolster children's ability to innovate. We also discuss whether similar socialisation practices can be interpreted from the archaeological record. We end by pointing to areas of future study for understanding the role of children and adolescents in the development of tool innovations across cultures in the past and present.
For indigenous hunter-gatherers, dependent for their subsistence and well-being on prey animals, animal extinction had significant and multifaceted effects, only some of which are reflected in the archaeological record. Contemporary hunter-gatherers often view animals as equal partners in a shared habitat, where these animals are simultaneously hunted and revered. We posit that this same duality existed among past hunter-gatherer groups. The disappearance of a species that supported human existence for millennia triggered not only technological and social changes but also had profound emotional and psychological effects. We present several selected case studies that reflect the complex dual relationship between indigenous hunter-gatherers and their prey under different environmental conditions. We focus on the material and mental effects of animal population decline over diverse cultures, geographies, and time scales. Our study sheds light on the vital role of specific animal taxa in human biological and cultural evolution. It also deepens our understanding of how indigenous hunter-gatherer societies expressed their awareness of coexistence with other species. In the age of the Sixth Extinction, this study might be more relevant than ever not only for reconstructing the life ways of indigenous hunter-gatherers but for all human and nonhuman species populating the planet.
Synthesizing diverse strands of theory and research, this compelling book explores the psychology of religion and spirituality through an innovative attachment lens. Pehr Granqvist examines the connections between early caregiving experiences, attachment patterns, and individual differences in religious cognition, experience, and behavior. The function of a deity as an attachment figure is analyzed, as are ways in which attachment facilitates the intergenerational transmission of religion. The book also shows how the attachment perspective can aid in understanding mystical experiences, connections between religion and mental health, and cultural differences between more and less religious societies. Granqvist's conversational writing style, concrete examples, and references to popular culture render complex concepts accessible.
For further info and order, see: https://www.guilford.com/books/Attachment-in-Religion-and-Spirituality/Pehr-Granqvist/9781462542680/reviews
For podcast interview: https://newbooksnetwork.com/pehr-granqvist-attachment-in-religion-and-spirituality-a-wider-view-guilford-press-2020/
Values have long provided essential foundation for cultural heritage policy and practice. Traditionally these values were determined by heritage experts and employed by agencies responsible for managing and protecting heritage for society and the future. Such values tended to focus on authorised and normative views of the past. More recently, heritage values have been applied with greater flexibility but to be effective this more flexible approach requires a good understanding of different perspectives. Only through understanding such differences and their implications can heritage genuinely have relevance to everyone in society. In some areas, we think this understanding may be deficient. In this paper we set out new findings which demonstrate that individuals with autism form different types of attachment towards buildings and places and create and respond to heritage values in different ways to neurotypical people.
Background
An emerging body of literature suggests there is a relationship between a pregnant woman’s psychological wellbeing and the development of maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) and early postpartum bonding. The nature of this relationship is not well understood because of the limited theoretical framework surrounding the construct of MFA and variations in study methods and data collection points. In this systematic review, we synthesize the published literature to determine the nature of the relationship from the antenatal to early postnatal period and to provide recommendations for future research and clinical practice.
Method
Using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) approach, four electronic databases were searched for peer-reviewed empirical studies, published in English. Articles were considered for inclusion if data was collected on at least one domain of maternal wellbeing/mental health and MFA during pregnancy or MFA during pregnancy and the mother-infant relationship during the early postpartum period (up to 12 weeks). No date parameters were applied to the search strategy. The review was registered with PROPSERO (registration number: CRD42018096174).
Results
25 studies examining maternal mental health and MFA/postpartum bonding were selected for inclusion in this review. Key findings identified from the review were: a need to validate existing mental health measures or develop new measures specific for use in antenatal populations; inconsistencies in data collection points throughout pregnancy and postpartum; a lack of consensus about the construct of MFA and the way it is assessed; and a continued focus on postpartum outcomes.
Conclusion
Scientific gaps remain in our understanding of the relationship between maternal mental health and both MFA and postpartum bonding which limit our theoretical understanding of the MFA construct. Recommendations for future research are to employ prospective longitudinal designs that span the full pregnancy and postpartum period, and for consistency in the terminology and methodology used when considering MFA. A re-focus of research attention on the theory behind MFA will allow a richer and more holistic account of the emerging relationship between mother and baby.
Empirical studies increasingly testify to the capacity for archaeological and cultural heritage sites to engender wonder, transformation, attachment, and community bonding among diverse individuals. Following political theorist Jane Bennett, these sites have the power to ‘enchant’ and, in so doing, they are seedbeds of human generosity, ethical mindfulness, and care for the world at large. However, the means by which such enchantment is created, and the extent to which these intimate encounters with the prehistoric or historic record can be deliberately crafted, are little understood. Worsening the predicament, professional practices commonly thwart the potential for archaeology to provoke ethical action amongst humans. Here, I propose a multi-stranded conceptual model for generating enchantment with the archaeological record across both professional audiences and broader publics. With reference to the European Commission-funded EMOTIVE Project, I articulate one particular strand of this model: facilitated dialogue. Alongside exploring the role of digital culture in its advancement, I argue that an enchantment-led approach is imperative for achieving a truly socially-beneficial archaeological discipline.
This paper develops a theoretical argument for how place attachments are forged and become dynamically linked to increasingly common mobility practices. First, we argue that mobilities, rather than negating the importance of place, shift our understanding of place and the habitual ways we relate to and bond with places as distinct from a conception of place attachment premised on fixity and stability. Second, we document how the body of research on place attachment has both reinforced and contested ‘sedentaristic’ assumptions criticized within the so-called ‘mobilities turn’ in the social sciences. Third, we present a conceptual framework, built around different modes of interrelation between fixity and flow, as a way to re-theorize, link and balance the various studies of place attachment that have grappled with mobility. Finally, we sketch out the main research implications of this framework for advancing our understanding of place attachment in a mobile world.
Objective:
This longitudinal qualitative study explores the impact of natural disasters on religious attachment (perceived relationship with God). We sought to validate and conceptually extend the religion-as-attachment model in a postdisaster context.
Method:
At 4 weeks (T1; n = 36) and 6 months postdisaster (T2; n = 29), survivors of the 2016 Louisiana flood completed a disaster-adapted version of the Religious Attachment Interview (Granqvist & Main, 2017).
Results:
At T1 and T2, survivors emphasized God being a safe haven (source of protection, comfort, or nurturance). This emphasis was especially pronounced for survivors who were directly affected (their home or business flooded) or had previous disaster exposure to Hurricane Katrina. Overall, survivors consistently emphasized God serving as a stronger and wiser attachment figure, and it was rare for them to report experiencing perceived separation or loss of intimacy from God. At T1 and T2, around 85% of survivors described their current religious attachment as either having a positive affective quality (e.g., closer, stronger) or as no different from before the disaster; around 15% said it had a negative affective quality (e.g., disappointed, strained). In describing their postdisaster religion/spirituality, survivors highlighted (a) God being a source of love, comfort, strength, and hope; (b) actively putting trust/faith in God; and (c) experiencing God through family/community.
Conclusion:
Results support and conceptually extend the religion-as-attachment model in a postdisaster context. Findings suggest disasters activate the attachment system, and survivors commonly view and relate with God as an attachment figure, especially one who serves as a safe haven. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
This paper identifies a significant interpretive issue for prehistoric archaeology: distinguishing adult ritual actions from the activities of children in the archaeological record. Through examining ethnographic accounts of recent hunter-gatherer children and reconsidering archaeological patterns and assemblages in light of these data, we explore how the results of children’s play can be—and likely have been—misinterpreted by archaeologists as evidence for adult ritual behavior in prehistoric contexts. Given that children were a significant component of past hunter-gatherer (and other) societies, the fact that the material components of their activities overlap tremendously with items used in adult rituals must be routinely considered by archaeologists if we are to reconstruct robust understandings of past peoples all over the globe.
Emotion, Affective Practices, and the Past in the Presentis a response to debates in the humanities and social sciences about the use of emotion. This timely and unique book explores the ways emotion is embroiled and used in contemporary engagements with the past, particularly in contexts such as heritage sites, museums, commemorations, political rhetoric and ideology, debates over issues of social memory, and touristic uses of heritage sites.
Including contributions from academics and practitioners in a range of countries, the book reviews significant and conflicting academic debates on the nature and expression of affect and emotion. As a whole, the book makes an argument for a pragmatic understanding of affect and, in doing so, outlines Wetherell’s concept of affective practice, a concept utilised in most of the chapters in this book. Since debates about affect and emotion can often be confusing and abstract, the book aims to clarify these debates and, through the use of case studies, draw out their implications for theory and practice within heritage and museum studies.
Emotion, Affective Practices, and the Past in the Presentshould be essential reading for students, academics, and professionals in the fields of heritage and museum studies. The book will also be of interest to those in other disciplines, such as social psychology, education, archaeology, tourism studies, cultural studies, media studies, anthropology, sociology, and history.
Submit Manuscript | http://medcraveonline.com relationship between the mother and her fetus [9]. The common characteristic between all of these definitions is emphasis on the importance of maternal-fetal relationship [10,11]. Development of this relationship is important due to its role in creation of attachment after birth [12,13]. Some researchers have reported that mother's attachment to the fetus would develop during pregnancy and it would help her prepare for transition to the motherhood period [14,15]. Some studies have shown that prenatal attachment is an important factor in predicting post-partum attachment behaviors [6], it is associated with mother-infant post-partum interactions and communications [12] and it has an important role in the health of the pregnant mother and her fetus [11]. Attachment, which is one of the essential needs of human beings, would act like an invisible connection and maintain a close relation between the mother and the child [16], is considered an important part of child's development [,4,18-24] and would develop a sense of trust in the child [5]. Results of studies conducted on human beings and other species have revealed that care deprivation has a major effect on the evolution of regulatory system and coping with stress. Mother's reaction to child's stress is considered an important source for coping; therefore infants with sensitive and respondent parents would learn that at the time of stress, parents are always available and it would be more chance for them to have secure attached relationship with their parents in the future. But infants with insensitive parents would learn that parents are not always available at the time of stress and crisis; so they would probably develop an insecure relationship with their parents [25]. Inappropriate development of attachment would have an adverse effect on the regulating part of child's right brain; different related studies have reported lower emotional and mental development, weak social interactions, school refusal, and more aggressive and hostile behaviors during childhood, behavioral disorders during adolescence and more tendencies toward drug abuse during adulthood [11,26]. Furthermore, mother's attachment to her fetus has a close relation with other important processes. Mele is believed that being related and attached to the fetus and sacrificing for him/ her is a responsibility that mothers should be committed to from the pregnancy period [27]. Mother's commitment, attachment and preparation for taking care of their child during pregnancy are the main parts of the motherhood process and for reaching the maternal identity [27,28]. Since the presentation of this concept in the early 1980s many studies have been conducted in this issue. Most of the studies have evaluated attachment in the form of mother-infant postpartum interactions [29-32], but a few has been dedicated to studying the subjective world of parents about their fetus during pregnancy [33] and mother's attachment to her fetus is not well recognized [34]; so that most of the studies about attachment during pregnancy are cross-sectional and related to the third trimester [1,6,11, 35-42]. Studying attachment during a limited time period would not be able to provide comprehensible information about its related factors and outcomes [40]; while, according to evidences, this relationship could be affected by different factors like nationality, cultural, mental and social conditions and individual's past; namely women who have not experienced a secured attachment during their childhood might encounter problems in developing an attachment to their infant [13,40]. Muller also believed that pregnant mother's experience of attachment to her own mother during childhood, would affect her future attachments to the family, spouse and friends and this process is effective on accepting the pregnancy and attachment to the fetus [31]. In the other words, the current living condition of people is rooted in their past and attachment as a unique process is affected by personal factors, individual's believes and past, environmental and cultural factors; attachment could also be affected by different issues like mental condition, social support, mother's age, gravida and etc. which vary among different cultures [42].
Why do dogs behave in the ways that they do? Why did our ancestors tame wolves? How have we ended up with so many breeds of dog, and how can we understand their role in contemporary human society? Explore the answers to these questions and many more in this study of the domestic dog. Building on the strengths of the first edition, this much-anticipated update incorporates two decades of new evidence and discoveries on dog evolution, behavior, training, and human interaction. It includes seven entirely new chapters covering topics such as behavioral modification and training, dog population management, the molecular evidence for dog domestication, canine behavioral genetics, cognition, and the impact of free-roaming dogs on wildlife conservation. It is an ideal volume for anyone interested in dogs and their evolution, behavior and ever-changing roles in society. The ultimate book about the domestic dog, ideal for anyone interested in their evolution, behavior and ever-changing roles in society A new edition of a classic text, presenting the latest research on dog behavior, training, domestication, genetics and cognition Includes seven entirely new chapters by leading experts in the field, incorporating two decades of new evidence and discoveries.
Humans have a biological predisposition to form attachment to social partners, and they seem to form attachment even toward non-human and inanimate targets. Attachment styles influence not only interpersonal relationships, but interspecies and object attachment as well. We hypothesized that young people form attachment toward their mobile phone, and that people with higher attachment anxiety use the mobile phone more likely as a compensatory attachment target. We constructed a scale to observe people's attachment to their mobile and we assessed their interpersonal attachment style. In this exploratory study we found that young people readily develop attachment toward their phone: they seek the proximity of it and experience distress on separation. People's higher attachment anxiety predicted higher tendency to show attachment-like features regarding their mobile. Specifically, while the proximity of the phone proved to be equally important for people with different attachment styles, the constant contact with others through the phone was more important for anxiously attached people. We conclude that attachment to recently emerged artificial objects, like the mobile may be the result of cultural co-option of the attachment system. People with anxious attachment style may face challenges as the constant contact and validation the computer-mediated communication offers may deepen their dependence on others.
Attachment to place may contribute to individuals’ well-being. We evaluated whether visualizing a place of attachment (compared with visualizing a nonattached familiar place) could increase the satisfaction of key psychological needs. Place attachment visualizations increased participants’ levels of self-esteem, meaning, and belonging. Furthermore, visualizing places at a certain geographical scale helped to improve meaning, self-esteem, and belonging among participants who had been ostracized. This is the first study to treat place attachment as an independent variable in an experimental design, so it broadens the options for internally valid, methodologically diverse place attachment research.
This paper outlines a "symbolic ecology" for the Aurignacian of Central and Southwestern Germany. Drawing upon data derived from cultural anthropology, psychology and zoobiology, we compare the sociocultural modalities of "managing" the recurrent theme of the mammoth and the cave lion with the encounter and interaction conditions underlying these two specific animal-human relations in the glacial landscapes of the European Early Upper Palaeolithic. We propose that being-in-the-world as highly mobile hunter-gatherers living in open and densely populated "animal-landscapes" strongly promotes non-Cartesian understandings of the animal-human interface, ultimately favouring notions of co-habitation, proximity and social intimacy. By reviewing key aspects of mammoth and cave lion ethology and socioecology, we point out the natural significance and relevance of these animals for human forager groups operating in the same environments. Moreover, we argue that this "natural significance" is directly reflected in the archaeological signature of the Central and Southwestern German Aurignacian that assigns these creatures a pre-eminent place in its material culture repertoire - for instance in craftsmanship, subsistence and settlement organisation and thus in areas deeply anchored in every-day practice. Although there is a clear convergence between the natural prominence of these animals and their sociocultural salience, different eco-behavioural profiles of mammoth and cave lion seem to have motivated varying modalities to engage with them materially. This, in turn, suggests different trajectories of constructing the animal-human interface and therefore a different "status" of both animals in the wider "Glaubenswelt" (belief world) of Aurignacian regional communities. The deep entrenchment of both animals in the sociocultural world as well as the rather unique interaction conditions they offer to human co-dwellers point to the social importance of mammoths and cave lions and thus to animistic and essentially relational ontologies. This, finally, demonstrates the blurring of the Cartesian boundary between animal and human domains and introduces the possibility of pondering aspects of "animal-personhood" in this part of the Aurignacian world. We conclude our survey by discussing some critical implications that arise when reading the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition from the perspective of animal-human interactions and the entanglement of ontologies and material signatures.
Alfred Gell puts forward a new anthropological theory of visual art, seen as a form of instrumental action: the making of things as a means of influencing the thoughts and actions of others. He argues that existing anthropological and aesthetic theories take an overwhelmingly passive point of view, and questions the criteria that accord art status only to a certain class of objects and not to others. The anthropology of art is here reformulated as the anthropology of a category of action: Gell shows how art objects embody complex intentionalities and mediate social agency. He explores the psychology of patterns and perceptions, art and personhood, the control of knowledge, and the interpretation of meaning, drawing upon a diversity of artistic traditions--European, Indian, Polynesian, Melanesian, and Australian. Art and Agency was completed just before Alfred Gell's death at the age of 51 in January 1997. It embodies the intellectual bravura, lively wit, vigour, and erudition for which he was admired, and will stand as an enduring testament to one of the most gifted anthropologists of his generation.
This article expands on the usability of the concepts of “place making” and “place attachment” as recently developed in urban studies research in the context of housing insecurity of marginalized communities in today’s neo-liberal city. Particularly, against the growing threat of urban evictions, the article utilizes a transdisciplinary approach, showing the relevance of both concepts for (a) a better understanding of bottom-up processes of spatial production and attempts to create a sense of place on the part of such communities, and (b) offering an innovative legal strategy for doing justice to these communities in terms of their compensation rights, especially where a title to land has not been registered on a private basis. These issues are critically examined on the site-related case of the Givat-Amal quarter in Tel Aviv, Israel. This district is now under actual final threat of forced evictions following seven conflicted decades with the state, municipal authorities and private entrepreneurs. Our transdisciplinary study is based on qualitative methodologies in human geography such as fieldwork, visual evidence, and interviews, with a glimpse into philosophy. It is equally based on revisiting “traditional” legal property rights through the lens of post-liberal human rights analysis. The argument can apply to many situations of forced evictions across Africa, Latin America, and the West itself.
Theoretical engagement and methodological innovations geared towards identifying the presence and activities of children in archaeological contexts has increased in pace over the last decade. This paper presents a systematic review of the literature pertaining to the archaeology of hunter-gatherer children (H. sapiens). The review summarises methods and results from 86 archaeological publications, and finds a number of research areas that show material culture relating to hunter-gatherer childhood, including children’s playthings and tools, learning to flintknap, and their involvement in the making of marks, art and footprints. The results demonstrate a diversity of evidence from all inhabited continents covering an extensive time frame. Following a thematic synthesis, we further explore the implications of these data for our understanding of the cultural variability and patterning of hunter-gatherer children in the deep past. We discuss possible interpretative pathways that can shed light on children’s learning processes, agency, minds and bodies, use of space, and how they were embedded in social worlds. The paper closes by proposing potential improvements to archaeological and anthropological research that will further progress our understanding of children as active and engaged members of their societies.
In this book, Jennifer French presents a new synthesis of the archaeological, palaeoanthropological, and palaeogenetic records of the European Palaeolithic, adopting a unique demographic perspective on these first two-million years of European prehistory. Unlike prevailing narratives of demographic stasis, she emphasises the dynamism of Palaeolithic populations of both our evolutionary ancestors and members of our own species across four demographic stages, within a context of substantial Pleistocene climatic changes. Integrating evolutionary theory with a socially oriented approach to the Palaeolithic, French bridges biological and cultural factors, with a focus on women and children as the drivers of population change. She shows how, within the physiological constraints on fertility and mortality, social relationships provide the key to enduring demographic success. Through its demographic focus, French combines a 'big picture' perspective on human evolution with careful analysis of the day-to-day realities of European Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer communities—their families, their children, and their lives.
Despite ample research on the prevalence of specific psychiatric disorders during COVID-19, we know little about the broader psychological impact of the pandemic on a wider population. The study investigates the prevalence and predictors of general psychiatric disorders measured by the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and frequency of loneliness during COVID-19 in the United Kingdom, a country heavily hit by the pandemic. We analyzed 15,530 respondents of the first large-scale, nationally representative survey of COVID-19 in a developed country, the first wave of Understanding Society COVID-19 Study. Results show that 29.2% of the respondents score 4 or more, the caseness threshold, on the general psychiatric disorder measure, and 35.86% of the respondents sometimes or often feel lonely. Regression analyses show that those who have or had COVID-19-related symptoms are more likely to develop general psychiatric disorders and are lonelier. Women and young people have higher risks of general psychiatric disorders and loneliness, while having a job and living with a partner are protective factors. This study showcases the psychological impact, including general psychiatric disorders and loneliness, of broader members of the society during COVID-19 and the underlying social inequalities.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, most communities in the United States imposed stay-at-home orders to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus, potentially leading to chronic social isolation. During the third week of shelter-in-place guidelines, 1,013 U.S. adults completed the UCLA Loneliness Scale-3 and Public Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Loneliness was elevated, with 43% of respondents scoring above published cutoffs, and was strongly associated with greater depression and suicidal ideation. Loneliness is a critical public health concern that must be considered during the social isolation efforts to combat the pandemic.
This paper explores the emotional dimensions of my research on children and their memorial markers in nineteenth-century cemeteries in the United States. Returning to this work in a heart-centered way offers an opportunity to address how my emotions are connected to my experiences and understandings in the present, as well as my engagement with the emotional lives of the people I am studying in the past. Working with the memorial monuments of young children has been emotionally challenging for me as a researcher, and I have become deeply interested in the emotional worlds that nineteenth-century American parents were a part of when they created these monuments designed to convey grief and loss. This exploration is also a journey of how I have moved away from my training in scientific, processual archaeology that prized objectivity to a heart-centered practice that combines rigor and respect for the material record with concerns of the heart and humanity.
Within cognitive archaeology, the Paleolithic mind is portrayed as rational, experiential, and anthropological. This chapter argues that the use of experiential and anthropological perspectives has the potential to enrich archaeological interpretations of early hominin cognition through the use of emotional and relational aspects. Wynn’s evolutionary cognitive archaeology is extended by using affective and material standpoints to explore the spaces between minds. The chapter emphasizes the importance of the work of Thomas Wynn to the development of the discipline and offers avenues to incorporate social, emotional, and relational aspects of mind in the study of early cognition—for example, the involvement of theory of mind when considering stone knapping, and the cultural transmission of early stone tool industries such as the Lomekwian. In a case study of the Middle Paleolithic site of Bruniquel Cave, the three approaches to the Paleolithic mind are explored, as well as their distinct interpretations.
Prior research has often limited the coping potential of inanimate objects to being cues for nostalgia. This article proposes that, due to an unavoidable separation from a loved one, individuals might adhere to an intuitive view that their loved one remains present in inanimate objects associated with him or her. Directing attachment behavior to inanimate objects associated with a loved one can be an effective strategy for maintaining subjective closeness to the partner. In Study 1, participants who imagined being trapped on a deserted island (vs. being together) were more likely to express both attachment to a photograph of their partner and nostalgia. Nostalgia, however, led to the anticipation that having the photograph would exacerbate the situation. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated that adults experiencing real‐life separation were more likely than controls to direct their attachment to inanimate objects that decreased loneliness and increased closeness to one's partner. The distinctive role of attachment to inanimate objects as a coping strategy is further discussed.
Past research indicates that people can meet psychological needs for belonging through a wide array of social surrogates, including fictional characters, pets, and even food. Although previous work illustrates that such targets can provide belonging, little work has explored the everyday prevalence of social surrogacy or the extent to which personality is associated with how people fulfill social needs. We report the results of an intensive two-week study in which participants completed initial measures of personality and then reported on social surrogacy using an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) approach. Results indicated that social surrogacy is widely prevalent, but there is variability in the types of behaviors used. Modest support was found for the idea that traits relevant to fear of rejection (but not needs for affiliation) are associated with social surrogate use.
In the past, the author replicated several Stone Age art objects, preferentially those made from mammoth tusk, using authentic tools and techniques. This contribution describes the results of his research work and the experiences he collected during the experiments, not only in relation to the material and its properties but also concerning the use of flint tools and their technical aspects. In addition, the author gives a brief overview about his subsequent considerations regarding early artisans, their skills and their social position.
Résumé
Les fragments de la figurine baptisée « homme-lion » ont été trouvés en 1939 dans la grotte d’Hohlenstein-Stadel, dans le sud-ouest de l’Allemagne. C’est Joachim Hahn qui fut le premier à assembler la figurine en 1969 ; la statuette a ensuite été restaurée entre 1987 et 1988 dans les ateliers du musée régional du Wurtemberg à Stuttgart. De nouvelles fouilles, menées par la direction générale du Patrimoine du Bade-Wurtemberg (Esslingen, Allemagne), ont été organisées dans cette même grotte entre 2009 et 2013. Des centaines de petits fragments ont alors été trouvés, certains appartenant clairement à l’homme-lion. Suite à ces fouilles, une deuxième restauration a été entreprise en 2012 et 2013 dans les ateliers de la Direction générale du Patrimoine. L’homme-lion, la plus grande des figurines datant de la dernière glaciation, a depuis une nouvelle apparence. Après remontage des fragments, une grande partie de la figurine a été complétée.
The Bonn-Oberkassel dog remains (Upper Pleistocene and 14223 þ- 58 years old) have been reported more than 100 years ago. Recent re-examination revealed the tooth of another older and smaller dog, making this domestic dog burial not only the oldest known, but also the only one with remains of two dogs. This observation brings the total known Magdalenian dogs to nine.
Domestication of dogs during the final Palaeolithic has important implications for understanding pre- Holocene hunter-gatherers. Most proposed hunter-gatherer motivations for domesticating dogs have been utilitarian. However, remains of the Bonn-Oberkassel dogs may offer another view.
The Bonn-Oberkassel dog was a late juvenile when it was buried at approximately age 27e28 weeks, with two adult humans and grave goods. Oral cavity lesions indicate a gravely ill dog that likely suffered a morbillivirus (canine distemper) infection. A dental line of suggestive enamel hypoplasia appears at the 19-week developmental stage. Two additional enamel hypoplasia lines, on the canine only, document further disease episodes at weeks 21 and 23. Pathological changes also include severe periodontal disease that may have been facilitated by immunodeficiency.
Since canine distemper has a three-week disease course with very high mortality, the dog must have been perniciously ill during the three disease bouts and between ages 19 and 23 weeks. Survival without intensive human assistance would have been unlikely. Before and during this period, the dog cannot have held any utilitarian use to humans.
We suggest that at least some Late Pleistocene humans regarded dogs not just materialistically, but may have developed emotional and caring bonds for their dogs, as reflected by the survival of this dog, quite possibly through human care.
Understanding the Palaeolithic emergence of human social complexity opens up a key perspective on later periods of cultural evolution. Palaeolithic mortuary practice is particularly revealing, as it echoes the social statuses of both the living and the dead. The famous Sunghir burials fall at the beginning of this sequence. Bioarchaeological analysis of the Sunghir individuals, viewed in the context of earlier Upper Palaeolithic mortuary behaviour more generally, reveals the concurrent practice of a range of funerary treatments, some of which are probably related to individual pathological abnormalities. Through this approach, the Sunghir burials become more than just an example of elaborate Palaeolithic burial, and highlight the diversity of early social and mortuary behaviours.
Archaeological research into how objects affect us emotionally is still in its infancy, with our affiliative responses to objects - those related to socially close and harmonious relationships - being particularly understudied. Psychological research has however revealed that objects can have powerful effects on emotional wellbeing, acting as attachment figures which provide a sense of comfort and security in the absence of loved ones, and promoting the confidence to explore and develop positive relationships. Here we discuss the phenomenon of these attachment objects, drawing on recent survey research, and apply this concept to new interpretations of two particularly meaningful prehistoric artefacts - the Stonehenge pig ‘toy’ and the Hohle Fels ‘Venus’. We conclude that a better understanding of attachment objects will provide considerable insight into the emotional significance of particular cherished artefacts throughout time.
Recent archeological finds of protodogs dating to 35,000 years ago have ignited controversy over the function of canids in early Upper Paleolithic societies. Reconstructions nominate the use of proto and early dogs in hunting and hauling as underwriting changes in subsistence technology, catalyzing human population growth and supporting the spread of modern humans at the expense of Neanderthals. These reconstructions assume that the use of canids in hunting will always have profound impacts on human subsistence. In this paper, I summarize existing quantitative data derived from the ethnographic record to evaluate productivity gains derived from the use of dogs in hunting. To augment this sparse information, I present some of the only data on the deployment of unspecialized Central African dogs (basenji’s) by hunter-gatherers. These data show that while dogs can enhance hunting returns in certain circumstance, their overall impact on hunting productivity is highly variable and often restricted to specific prey types. Furthermore, the complex circumstances surrounding the emergence and spread of dogs globally precludes simple applications of these data to the archaeological record. These data invite a reexamination of when and how we expect dogs to have a significant impact on human subsistence and the circumstances that supported the emergence and spread of canids as effective hunting aids.
Hoarding disorder is a disabling psychiatric disorder, characterized by the acquisition and retention of possessions to the point where it negatively impacts the individual's life, regardless of the value of the items. While treatments for hoarding disorder are promising, the chronic and egosyntonic nature of the disorder means that further development of the underlying theoretical model of hoarding is important in order to improve treatments. In particular, one aspect of hoarding disorder that has not received specific theoretical emphasis is the link between possessions and the self-concept, reflecting notions dating back to William James that what we own can come to define who we are. The purpose of the current review is to specifically examine literature pertinent to the link between possessions and the self-concept in hoarding disorder. The paper includes an examination of the various definitions of self, a review of literature relevant to self in hoarding, an integration of consumer psychology perspectives, and a discussion of treatment implications. The review highlights the need for more dedicated research, the development of an appropriate quantitative measure relevant to the link between possessions and the self-concept, and investigation into possible underlying factors for this link. Potential implications for treatment are highlighted.
The Aurignacian of the Swabian Jura constitutes a key region for the understanding of the behaviour of the first populations of modern humans in Europe. The region has yielded works of figurative art and musical instruments that are among the oldest in the world. The objects are evidence for the existence of a new type of society distinct from those known in previous phases of human prehistory. This article highlights the innovations intrinsic to the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic and contests the idea of a gradual evolution, which erodes the clear distinction between the Middle Palaeolithic and the Upper Palaeolithic at some point in the transition.
Palaeolithic societies have been a neglected topic in the discussion of human origins. In this book, which succeeds and replaces The Palaeolithic Settlement of Europe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1986, Clive Gamble challenges the established view that the social life of Europeans over the 500,000 years of the European Palaeolithic must remain a mystery. In the past forty years archaeologists have recovered a wealth of information from sites throughout the continent. Professor Gamble now introduces a new approach to this material. He examines the archaeological evidence from stone tools, hunting and campsites for information on the scale of social interaction, and the forms of social life. Taking a pan-European view of the archaeological evidence, he reconstructs ancient human societies, and introduces new perspectives on the unique social experience of human beings.
Hoarding behaviours are characterised by the acquisition of and failure to discard possessions, which leads to excessive and often dangerous clutter and significant psychological/emotional distress. The cognitive behavioural-model posits that a key aspect in the expression of hoarding tendencies is an excessive attachment to objects. Research indicates that attachment style and anthropomorphic tendencies are associated with excessive object attachment and subsequent hoarding. In this study, a non-clinical sample of 283 participants (210 female) completed questionnaires measuring adult attachment styles, attachment to objects, anthropomorphic tendencies, and hoarding severity and behaviours. Females displayed significantly higher scores on hoarding severity, anxious and avoidant attachments, and on anthropomorphism. Strong positive correlations were found between measures of inanimate object attachment, adult attachment style, and anthropomorphism, with hoarding behaviours and cognitions. Subsequent regression analyses revealed that one measure of adult attachment (degree of anxious attachment) and object attachment was significant predictors of hoarding behaviours and cognitions.
This book traces the evolution of the dog, from its origins about 15,000 years ago up to recent times. The timing of dog domestication receives attention, with comparisons between different genetics-based models and archaeological evidence. Allometric patterns between dogs and their ancestors, wolves, shed light on the nature of the morphological changes that dogs underwent. Dog burials highlight a unifying theme of the whole book: the development of a distinctive social bond between dogs and people; the book also explores why dogs and people relate so well to each other. Though cosmopolitan in overall scope, greatest emphasis is on the New World, with entire chapter devoted to dogs of the arctic regions, mostly in the New World. Discussion of several distinctive modern roles of dogs underscores the social bond between dogs and people.