This book provides an overview of the archaeological sites and cultural assemblages in the world and presents an archaeological database that has been established through two large-scale research projects conducted between 2010 and 2022. The projects were Replacement of the Neanderthals by Modern Humans (2010–2015) and The Cultural History of PaleoAsia (2016–2022), both of which were carried out with the aid of the Japanese Government. They deal with multi-disciplinary studies of the demise of more archaic hominins and the survival of anatomically modern humans. Although the database is designated PaleoAsiaDB, which may imply a focus on Asia, it incorporates the dataset collected from Africa and Europe by the Replacement of the Neanderthals by Modern Humans project. PaleoAsiaDB provides a list of more than 3,300 sites and 7,600 cultural assemblages of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic (Middle and Late Stone Age) of the Eastern Hemisphere as of 2020. This database is the first attempt of its kind to document the related sites of 200-20ka. The full version of the database is available at the University Museum on the University of Tokyo homepage.

The Prehistory of Human Migration - Human Expansion, Resource Use, and Mortuary Practice in Maritime Asia presents the current state of archaeological research on the migration and expansion of the first modern humans (Homo sapiens) into the maritime regions of Asia and Oceania. This area, which stretches geographically from the North and Southeast Asian mainland through the archipelagos of Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia all the way to Oceania, has provided us with numerous new insights and discoveries based on data from archaeological and bioanthropological research, thus revealing the cognitive abilities as well as the behavioural adaptations and technological innovations of these early islanders and seafarers that led to the successful colonization of this unique island world. In seven chapters devoted to the themes ‘Modern Human Migration to Maritime Asia and Oceania’, ‘Modern Human Migration, Technology and Resource Use in Maritime Asia’, and ‘Modern Human Migration and Mortuary Practices in Maritime Asia’, leading archaeologists present their research in Wallacea, the Ryukyu Islands (East Asia), and the coastal regions of Northeast and Northeast Asia, and discuss their findings on early modern human migration to Maritime Asia, the utilization of its diverse resources, and the belief systems of these early islanders during the Late Pleistocene.

2022 Choice Outstanding Academic Title The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere is a reclaimed history of the deep past of Indigenous people in North and South America during the Paleolithic. Paulette F. C. Steeves mines evidence from archaeology sites and Paleolithic environments, landscapes, and mammalian and human migrations to make the case that people have been in the Western Hemisphere not only just prior to Clovis sites (10,200 years ago) but for more than 60,000 years, and likely more than 100,000 years. Steeves discusses the political history of American anthropology to focus on why pre-Clovis sites have been dismissed by the field for nearly a century. She explores supporting evidence from genetics and linguistic anthropology regarding First Peoples and time frames of early migrations. Additionally, she highlights the work and struggles faced by a small yet vibrant group of American and European archaeologists who have excavated and reported on numerous pre-Clovis archaeology sites. In this first book on Paleolithic archaeology of the Americas written from an Indigenous perspective, The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere includes Indigenous oral traditions, archaeological evidence, and a critical and decolonizing discussion of the development of archaeology in the Americas.

From the American Side I went to the USSR for the first time in 1982 to attend the 11th meeting of the International Union for Quaternary research (INQUA) held at the Moscow State University. At that time relations between our two countries were anything but congenial and many restrictions were placed on our viewing the archaeological and paleontological collections and labora tory facilities. This was not the ideal climate for the free exchange of ideas needed for meaningful research. However, it was obvious to us that the strained relations did not extend to scientific discussions between scholars. We left that meeting well aware that if the problems of prehistoric Old World-New World relationships were to be resolved, it would eventually require cooperative research efforts within the world community of archaeologists. At that time, the pre-Clovis problem in New World archaeology was foremost in the minds of many North American researchers: tool technology and assemblages were being studied as a possible means of establishing cultural relationships across the Bering Strait, Clovis sites and mammoth kills were being looked at with new ideas for interpretation, and New World researchers realized that to resolve these questions they had to become familiar with the archaeological record of northeast Asia. A chance meeting of the writer with Olga Soffer in 1983 led to serious discussions of the sites on the Russian or East European Plain.

This richly illustrated book offers a concise overview of the geology of Egypt in the context of the geology of the Arab Region and Northeast Africa. An introductory chapter on history of geological research in Egypt sheds much light on the stages before and after the establishment of Egyptian Geological Survey (the second oldest geological survey worldwide), Hume's book and Said's 1962, 1990 books. The book starts with the Precambrian geology of Egypt, in terms of lithostratigraphy and classifications, structural and tectonic framework, crustal evolution and metamorphic belts. A dedicated chapter discusses the Paleozoic-Mesozoic-Cenozoic tectonics and structural evolution of Egypt. A chapter highlights the Red Sea tectonics and the Gulf of Suez and Gulf of Aqaba Rifts. Subsequent chapters address the Phanerozoic geology from Paleozoic to Quaternary. The Egyptian Impact Crater(s) and Meteorites are dealt with in a separate chapter. The Earth resources in Egypt, including metallic and non-metallic ore deposits, hydrocarbon and water resources, are given much more attention throughout four chapters. The last chapter addresses the seismicity, seismotectonics and neotectonics of Egypt.

Outlines a reassessment of human evolution that draws on recent fossil findings and challenges current theories to say that humans coexisted and competed across the African continent while exchanging genes, tools, and behaviors (source éditeur)

There is no common understanding of the concept of the human mind, its changes in different historical epochs, forecasts for development, or its influence on the phenomena of art and culture. The connection between the evolution of the mind, anatomical changes, and social organization are not clear. Through the theory of self-organization of complex systems, the essence of cultural changes in different historical periods and solutions to practical questions in the theory of art and design are better understood. Self-Organization of the Human Mind and the Transition From Paleolithic to Behavioral Modernity is a critical scholarly resource that examines the development of human consciousness as a realization of the laws of self-organization or complex systems. The theory of self-organization of complex systems uses the mathematical apparatus of the wave model of S-space. The book also conducts a comparison of theoretical assumptions with specific cultural phenomena that are manifestations of the evolution of the mind. Featuring a range of topics such as behavior, rationality, and culture, this book is essential for archaeologists, academicians, anthropologists, researchers, sociologists, professionals, and students.

Paperback reprint of the cloth original Winner of the 2004 Outstanding Academic Title award from the American Library Association! Filling a gap in classroom texts, more than 60 essays by major scholars in the field have been gathered to create the most up-to-date and complete book available on Levantine and Near Eastern archaeology.

Despite the obvious geographic importance of eastern Asia in human migration, its discussion in the context of the emergence and dispersal of modern humans has been rare. Emergence and Diversity of Modern Human Behavior in Paleolithic Asia focuses long-overdue scholarly attention on this under-studied area of the world. Arising from a 2011 symposium sponsored by the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, this book gathers the work of archaeologists from the Pacific Rim of Asia, Australia, and North America, to address the relative lack of attention given to the emergence of modern human behavior as manifested in Asia during the worldwide dispersal from Africa.