Foreword List of Figures List of Tables List of Appendix Tables 1. Early Body Ornaments 1.1 Debate on Modern Human Origins 1.2 Spatiotemporal Distribution of Early Shell Beads 1.3 Blombos Inference 1.4 Prime Movers of Ornamentation 1.5 Structure of the Book Part I: The Nature of Material Signification 2. Search For the Optimal Semiotic Theory 2.

1 The Nature of Material Signification in Evolutionary Archaeology 2.2 The Nature of Material Signification in Theoretical Archaeology 2.3 The Optimal Theory for Describing the Nature of Past Material Signification 2.4 Summary 3. Outline of the Peircean Semiotic Theory 3.1 Peirce's Sign 3.2 Three Triads 3.3 Peirce's Tenfold Typology of Signs 3.

4 Summary 4. Application of the Peircean Semiotic Theory 4.1 Re-Evaluating the Nature of Symbolism 4.2 Rethinking the Nature of Ornamental Signs 4.3 Extending the Nature of Ornamental Signs 4.4 Summary Part II: The Emergence of Material Signification 5. Search For The Optimal Evolutionary Theory 5.1 The Emergence of Material Signs In Evolutionary Archaeology 5.

2 The Optimal Theory for Tracing the Emergence of Past Material Signification 5.3 Summary 6. Outline of a Pragmatic and Enactive Theory of Cognitive Semiotics 6.1 Phenomenological Background 6.2 Pragmatic and Enactive Signification 6.3 Aesthetic Material Signs 6.4 Summary 7. Application of a Pragmatic and Enactive Theory of Cognitive Semiotics 7.

1 The Emergence of Iconic, Indexical, and Symbolic Body Ornamentation 7.2 The Emergence of Aesthetic Body Ornamentation and Cultural Identity 7.3 The Emergence of Human Selfhood through Ornament-Based Rituals 7.4 Summary 8. The Origins of our Semiotic Mind Bibliography Appendix Index.