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Paige J, Perreault C. 3.3 million years of stone tool complexity suggests that cumulative culture began during the Middle Pleistocene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2319175121. [PMID: 38885385 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2319175121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Cumulative culture, the accumulation of modifications, innovations, and improvements over generations through social learning, is a key determinant of the behavioral diversity across Homo sapiens populations and their ability to adapt to varied ecological habitats. Generations of improvements, modifications, and lucky errors allow humans to use technologies and know-how well beyond what a single naive individual could invent independently within their lifetime. The human dependence on cumulative culture may have shaped the evolution of biological and behavioral traits in the hominin lineage, including brain size, body size, life history, sociality, subsistence, and ecological niche expansion. Yet, we do not know when, in the human career, our ancestors began to depend on cumulative culture. Here, we show that hominins likely relied on a derived form of cumulative culture by at least ~600 kya, a result in line with a growing body of existing evidence. We analyzed the complexity of stone tool manufacturing sequences over the last 3.3 My of the archaeological record. We then compare these to the achievable complexity without cumulative culture, which we estimate using nonhuman primate technologies and stone tool manufacturing experiments. We find that archaeological technologies become significantly more complex than expected in the absence of cumulative culture only after ~600 kya.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Paige
- Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211
| | - Charles Perreault
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281
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2
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Ma DD, Pei SW, Xie F, Ye Z, Wang FG, Xu JY, Deng CL, de la Torre I. Earliest Prepared core technology in Eurasia from Nihewan (China): Implications for early human abilities and dispersals in East Asia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2313123121. [PMID: 38437546 PMCID: PMC10945746 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2313123121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Organized flaking techniques to obtain predetermined stone tools have been traced back to the early Acheulean (also known as mode 2) in Africa and are seen as indicative of the emergence of advanced technical abilities and in-depth planning skills among early humans. Here, we report one of the earliest known examples of prepared core technology in the archaeological record, at the Cenjiawan (CJW) site in the Nihewan basin of China, dated 1.1 Mya. The operational schemes reconstructed from the CJW refit sets, together with shaping patterns observed in the retouched tools, suggest that Nihewan basin toolmakers had the technical abilities of mode 2 hominins, and developed different survival strategies to adapt to local raw materials and environments. This finding predates the previously earliest known prepared core technology from Eurasia by 0.3 My, and the earliest known mode 2 sites in East Asia by a similar amount of time, thus suggesting that hominins with advanced technologies may have migrated into high latitude East Asia as early as 1.1 Mya.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong-Dong Ma
- Department of Archaeology, Institute of History, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid28037, Spain
| | - Shu-Wen Pei
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100044, China
| | - Fei Xie
- Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Shijiazhuang050033, China
| | - Zhi Ye
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100044, China
- School of Humanities, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
| | - Fa-Gang Wang
- Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Shijiazhuang050033, China
| | - Jing-Yue Xu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100044, China
- School of Humanities, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
| | - Cheng-Long Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100029, China
| | - Ignacio de la Torre
- Department of Archaeology, Institute of History, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid28037, Spain
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Yezzi-Woodley K, Terwilliger A, Li J, Chen E, Tappen M, Calder J, Olver P. Using machine learning on new feature sets extracted from three-dimensional models of broken animal bones to classify fragments according to break agent. J Hum Evol 2024; 187:103495. [PMID: 38309243 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2024]
Abstract
Distinguishing agents of bone modification at paleoanthropological sites is an important means of understanding early hominin evolution. Fracture pattern analysis is used to help determine site formation processes, including whether hominins were hunting or scavenging for animal food resources. Determination of how these behaviors manifested in ancient human sites has major implications for our biological and behavioral evolution, including social and cognitive abilities, dietary impacts of having access to in-bone nutrients like marrow, and cultural variation in butchering and food processing practices. Nevertheless, previous analyses remain inconclusive, often suffering from lack of replicability, misuse of mathematical methods, and/or failure to overcome equifinality. In this paper, we present a new approach aimed at distinguishing bone fragments resulting from hominin and carnivore breakage. Our analysis is founded on a large collection of scanned three-dimensional models of fragmentary bone broken by known agents, to which we apply state of the art machine learning algorithms. Our classification of fragments achieves an average mean accuracy of 77% across tests, thus demonstrating notable, but not overwhelming, success for distinguishing the agent of breakage. We note that, while previous research applying such algorithms has claimed higher success rates, fundamental errors in the application of machine learning protocols suggest that the reported accuracies are unjustified and unreliable. The systematic, fully documented, and proper application of machine learning algorithms leads to an inherent reproducibility of our study, and therefore our methods hold great potential for deciphering when and where hominins first began exploiting marrow and meat, and clarifying their importance and influence on human evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrina Yezzi-Woodley
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, 301 19th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, USA.
| | - Alexander Terwilliger
- School of Mathematics, University of Minnesota, 206 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Jiafeng Li
- School of Mathematics, University of Minnesota, 206 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Eric Chen
- Mathematics, Wayzata High School, 4955 Peony Ln N, Plymouth, MN, 55446, USA
| | - Martha Tappen
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, 301 19th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, USA
| | - Jeff Calder
- School of Mathematics, University of Minnesota, 206 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Peter Olver
- School of Mathematics, University of Minnesota, 206 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
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Smedley RK, Fenn K, Stanistreet IG, Stollhofen H, Njau JK, Schick K, Toth N. Age-depth model for uppermost Ndutu Beds constrains Middle Stone Age technology and climate-induced paleoenvironmental changes at Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania). J Hum Evol 2024; 186:103465. [PMID: 38064862 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania is part of a globally important archeological and paleoanthropological World Heritage Site location critical to our understanding of modern human evolution. The Ndutu Beds in the upper part of the geological sequence at Olduvai Gorge represent the oldest unit to yield modern Homo sapiens skeletal material and Middle Stone Age technology. However, the timing of the deposition of the Ndutu Beds is poorly constrained at present, which limits our understanding of the paleoenvironments critical for contextualizing H. sapiens and related technologies in the Olduvai Basin. Using a suite of 15 luminescence ages of sedimentary core samples, combined with Bayesian statistics, this study provides a new higher-resolution age-depth model for the deposition of the uppermost Upper Ndutu and Naisiuiu Beds cored by the Olduvai Gorge Coring Project. The luminescence and modeled ages are presented as ±1 σ uncertainties. The Ndutu Beds intersected by the Olduvai Gorge Coring Project cores are dated to between 117.1 ± 17.9 and 45.3 ± 4.2 ka (between 125.9 ± 26.5 and 45.8 ± 8.2 ka modeled ages), while a probable overlying layer of Naisiusiu Beds dates to 23.7 ± 10.9 to 12.1 ± 1.7 ka (25.7 ± 18.9 ka and 12.0 ± 3.4 ka modeled age). Time-averaged accretion rates are derived during this time: (1) initially low rates (<5 cm ka-1) from the bottom of the core at 117.1 ± 17.9 ka up to 95.3 ± 11.1 ka (125.9 ± 26.5 to 95.5 ± 23.3 ka modeled ages); (2) the middle section spanning between 95.3 ± 11.1 and 62.7 ± 5.7 ka (95.5 ± 23.3 to 61.9 ± 10.4 ka modeled ages) with mean rates above 15 cm ka-1; and (3) the last 62.7 ± 5.7 ka (61.9 ± 10.4 ka modeled age) where the accretion rate reduces to below 5 cm ka-1. This reduction can be explained by the evolution of the gorge system that was likely driven by subsidence of the Olbalbal depression and changes in climate, particularly precipitation and resulting lake and base level changes. Older Upper Ndutu and Lower Ndutu Beds are contained within proto-gorges within the modern gorge system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel K Smedley
- Department of Geography and Planning, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZT, UK.
| | - Kaja Fenn
- Department of Geography and Planning, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZT, UK
| | - Ian G Stanistreet
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZT, UK; The Stone Age Institute, 1392 W. Dittemore Rd, Gosport, Indiana, 47433, USA
| | - Harald Stollhofen
- GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander-University (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91504, Germany
| | - Jackson K Njau
- The Stone Age Institute, 1392 W. Dittemore Rd, Gosport, Indiana, 47433, USA; Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47408, USA
| | - Kathy Schick
- The Stone Age Institute, 1392 W. Dittemore Rd, Gosport, Indiana, 47433, USA
| | - Nicholas Toth
- The Stone Age Institute, 1392 W. Dittemore Rd, Gosport, Indiana, 47433, USA
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5
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Mussi M, Skinner MM, Melis RT, Panera J, Rubio-Jara S, Davies TW, Geraads D, Bocherens H, Briatico G, Le Cabec A, Hublin JJ, Gidna A, Bonnefille R, Di Bianco L, Méndez-Quintas E. Early Homo erectus lived at high altitudes and produced both Oldowan and Acheulean tools. Science 2023:eadd9115. [PMID: 37824630 DOI: 10.1126/science.add9115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
In Africa, the scarcity of hominin remains found in direct association with stone tools has hindered attempts to link Homo habilis and Homo erectus with particular lithic industries. The infant mandible discovered in level E at Garba IV (Melka Kunture) on the highlands of Ethiopia is critical to this issue due to its direct association with an Oldowan lithic industry. Here, we use synchrotron imaging to examine the internal morphology of the unerupted permanent dentition and confirm its identification as Homo erectus. Additionally, we utilize new palaeomagnetic ages to show that (i) the mandible in level E is ca. 2 million-years-old, and represents one of the earliest Homo erectus fossils, and (ii) that overlying level D, ca. 1.95 million-years-old, contains the earliest known Acheulean assemblage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margherita Mussi
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Sapienza Università di Roma, 00185 Roma, Italy
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Italy-Spain
- ISMEO - The International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies, 00186 Roma, Italy
| | - Matthew M Skinner
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NR, UK
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey (CSDHJ), University of the Witwatersrand, Braamfontein 2000, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Rita T Melis
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Italy-Spain
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato, Italy
| | - Joaquín Panera
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Italy-Spain
- Departamento de Prehistoria, Historia Antigua y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Prof. Aranguren, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- IDEA, Instituto de Evolución en África, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, 28010 Madrid, Spain
| | - Susana Rubio-Jara
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Italy-Spain
- Departamento de Prehistoria, Historia Antigua y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Prof. Aranguren, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- IDEA, Instituto de Evolución en África, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, 28010 Madrid, Spain
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, 09002 Burgos, Spain
| | - Thomas W Davies
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NR, UK
| | - Denis Geraads
- Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Hervé Bocherens
- Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Giuseppe Briatico
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Sapienza Università di Roma, 00185 Roma, Italy
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Italy-Spain
- Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Adeline Le Cabec
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA (UMR 5199), F-33600 Pessac, France
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Agness Gidna
- Department of Cultural Heritage, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Raymonde Bonnefille
- CEREGE, Université Aix-Marseille, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Technopole Arbois-Méditerranée, 13545 Aix-en-Provence Cedex 04, France
| | - Luca Di Bianco
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Italy-Spain
| | - Eduardo Méndez-Quintas
- Italo-Spanish Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Italy-Spain
- IDEA, Instituto de Evolución en África, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, 28010 Madrid, Spain
- GEAAT, Grupo de Estudos de Arqueoloxía, Antigüidade e Territorio. Universidade de Vigo, Facultade de Historia, Campus As Lagoas, 32004 Ourense, Spain
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Varella MAC. Nocturnal selective pressures on the evolution of human musicality as a missing piece of the adaptationist puzzle. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1215481. [PMID: 37860295 PMCID: PMC10582961 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1215481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Human musicality exhibits the necessary hallmarks for biological adaptations. Evolutionary explanations focus on recurrent adaptive problems that human musicality possibly solved in ancestral environments, such as mate selection and competition, social bonding/cohesion and social grooming, perceptual and motor skill development, conflict reduction, safe time-passing, transgenerational communication, mood regulation and synchronization, and credible signaling of coalition and territorial/predator defense. Although not mutually exclusive, these different hypotheses are still not conceptually integrated nor clearly derived from independent principles. I propose The Nocturnal Evolution of Human Musicality and Performativity Theory in which the night-time is the missing piece of the adaptationist puzzle of human musicality and performing arts. The expansion of nocturnal activities throughout human evolution, which is tied to tree-to-ground sleep transition and habitual use of fire, might help (i) explain the evolution of musicality from independent principles, (ii) explain various seemingly unrelated music features and functions, and (iii) integrate many ancestral adaptive values proposed. The expansion into the nocturnal niche posed recurrent ancestral adaptive challenges/opportunities: lack of luminosity, regrouping to cook before sleep, imminent dangerousness, low temperatures, peak tiredness, and concealment of identity. These crucial night-time features might have selected evening-oriented individuals who were prone to acoustic communication, more alert and imaginative, gregarious, risk-taking and novelty-seeking, prone to anxiety modulation, hedonistic, promiscuous, and disinhibited. Those night-time selected dispositions may have converged and enhanced protomusicality into human musicality by facilitating it to assume many survival- and reproduction-enhancing roles (social cohesion and coordination, signaling of coalitions, territorial defense, antipredatorial defense, knowledge transference, safe passage of time, children lullabies, and sexual selection) that are correspondent to the co-occurring night-time adaptive challenges/opportunities. The nocturnal dynamic may help explain musical features (sound, loudness, repetitiveness, call and response, song, elaboration/virtuosity, and duetting/chorusing). Across vertebrates, acoustic communication mostly occurs in nocturnal species. The eveningness chronotype is common among musicians and composers. Adolescents, who are the most evening-oriented humans, enjoy more music. Contemporary tribal nocturnal activities around the campfire involve eating, singing/dancing, storytelling, and rituals. I discuss the nocturnal integration of musicality's many roles and conclude that musicality is probably a multifunctional mental adaptation that evolved along with the night-time adaptive landscape.
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Gossa T, Hovers E. Continuity and change in lithic techno-economy of the early Acheulian on the Ethiopian highland: A case study from locality MW2; the Melka Wakena site-complex. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0277029. [PMID: 36477016 PMCID: PMC9728887 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent research has made great strides clarifying the chronology, temporal span, and geographic and technological patterning of the Acheulian in eastern Africa. However, highland occurrences of the Acheulian remain under-represented and their relationship to cultural dynamics in the Rift are still poorly understood. Recently, a stratified sequence of four archaeological layers, recording Acheulian occupations dated between ~1.6 Ma and ~1.3 Ma, has been discovered in locality MW2 of the Melka Wakena site-complex (south-central Ethiopian highlands). This database enabled a systematic exploration of the question of tempo and mode of technological changes at a local sequence, allowing, for the first time, comparison with other highland sites as well as in the Rift. The detailed techno-economic study presented in this study shows that the early Acheulian at the locality was characterized by the co-existence of lithic reduction sequences for small debitage and for flake-based Large Cutting Tool production. In the early, ~1.6 Ma assemblage, a strategy of variable raw material exploitation and technological emphasis on small debitage were coupled with production of few crude bifacial elements. These shifted at ~1.4 Ma towards a preferential and intensive exploitation of a highly knappable glassy ignimbrite and emphasis on Large Cutting Tool production, including higher investment in their techno-morphological aspects. The MW2 sequence tracks lithic technological trends observed in the Rift, with only a short time lag. Diachronic changes in the raw material economy and land use patterns may have occurred at MW2 earlier than previously reported for the Acheulian on the highlands. The behavioral dynamics gleaned from the early Acheulian assemblages at MW2 are important for our understanding of the diachronic changes in the abilities of Acheulian hominins to exploit the diverse geographic and ecological habitats of eastern Africa and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tegenu Gossa
- Human Evolution Research Center (HERC), The University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States of America
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Department of History and Heritage Management, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia
- * E-mail:
| | - Erella Hovers
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Affiliate Researcher, Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States of America
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Gonzalez-Cabrera I. A lineage explanation of human normative guidance: the coadaptive model of instrumental rationality and shared intentionality. SYNTHESE 2022; 200:493. [PMID: 36438177 PMCID: PMC9681693 DOI: 10.1007/s11229-022-03925-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
This paper aims to contribute to the existing literature on normative cognition by providing a lineage explanation of human social norm psychology. This approach builds upon theories of goal-directed behavioral control in the reinforcement learning and control literature, arguing that this form of control defines an important class of intentional normative mental states that are instrumental in nature. I defend the view that great ape capacities for instrumental reasoning and our capacity (or family of capacities) for shared intentionality coadapted to each other and argue that the evolution of this capacity has allowed the representation of social norms and the emergence of our capacity for normative guidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Gonzalez-Cabrera
- Institute of Philosophy, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 49, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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9
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Community established best practice recommendations for tephra studies-from collection through analysis. Sci Data 2022; 9:447. [PMID: 35882866 PMCID: PMC9325882 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-022-01515-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Tephra is a unique volcanic product with an unparalleled role in understanding past eruptions, long-term behavior of volcanoes, and the effects of volcanism on climate and the environment. Tephra deposits also provide spatially widespread, high-resolution time-stratigraphic markers across a range of sedimentary settings and thus are used in numerous disciplines (e.g., volcanology, climate science, archaeology). Nonetheless, the study of tephra deposits is challenged by a lack of standardization that inhibits data integration across geographic regions and disciplines. We present comprehensive recommendations for tephra data gathering and reporting that were developed by the tephra science community to guide future investigators and to ensure that sufficient data are gathered for interoperability. Recommendations include standardized field and laboratory data collection, reporting and correlation guidance. These are organized as tabulated lists of key metadata with their definition and purpose. They are system independent and usable for template, tool, and database development. This standardized framework promotes consistent documentation and archiving, fosters interdisciplinary communication, and improves effectiveness of data sharing among diverse communities of researchers.
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10
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Akuku P, Saladié P, Mohamed A, Mwambwiga A, Bushozi P, Mercader J. Faunal Assemblages From Lower Bed I (Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania). Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.895305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Palaeobiological and archeological excavations at the site of Ewass Oldupa, found in the western Plio-Pleistocene rift basin of Oldupai Gorge (also Olduvai Gorge), Tanzania, revealed rich fossiliferous levels and the earliest remains of human activity at Oldupai Gorge, dated to 2 million years ago. This paper provides zooarchaeological taxonomic, taphonomic, and behavioral analyses, applying several methods to explore the setting in which the assemblage was formed. We identified agency behind bone surface modifications, such as cut, tooth and percussion marks, and determined the frequency of carnivore tooth marks as well as their distribution on both discrete specimens and across species. In addition, our work revealed co-occurrence of modifications to include butchering marks and carnivore tooth marks. Ravaging levels were estimated as percentage. The faunal accumulation from Ewass Oldupa contains two cut marked specimens, together with low degrees of percussion and carnivore tooth marks, moderate ravaging, and diagenetic changes suggestive of water flow. Thus, multiple lines of evidence indicate a palimpsest accumulation. Taxonomic diversity is high, with up to 22 taxa representing diverse habitats, ranging from open grassland to wooded bushlands, as well as moist mosaics during Bed I. Overall, this archaeo-faunal assemblage speaks to increased behavioral versatility among Oldowan hominins and interactions with the carnivore guild.
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11
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Fujioka T, Benito-Calvo A, Mora R, McHenry L, Njau JK, de la Torre I. Direct cosmogenic nuclide isochron burial dating of early Acheulian stone tools at the T69 Complex (FLK West, Olduvai Bed II, Tanzania). J Hum Evol 2022; 165:103155. [PMID: 35303498 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Toshiyuki Fujioka
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain; Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Sydney, Australia.
| | - Alfonso Benito-Calvo
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
| | - Rafael Mora
- Facultat de Lletres, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Lindsay McHenry
- Department of Geosciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 3209 N. Maryland Ave, Milwaukee, WI, 53217, USA
| | - Jackson K Njau
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 E 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA; The Stone Age Institute, 1392 W. Dittemore Rd, Bloomington, IN 47407, USA
| | - Ignacio de la Torre
- Instituto de Historia, CSIC-National Research Council, Albasanz 26-28, 28037 Madrid, Spain.
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12
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Daujeard C, Prat S. What Are the “Costs and Benefits” of Meat-Eating in Human Evolution? The Challenging Contribution of Behavioral Ecology to Archeology. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.834638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the omnivorous diet of most human populations, meat foraging gradually increased during the Paleolithic, in parallel with the development of hunting capacities. There is evidence of regular meat consumption by extinct hominins from 2 Ma onward, with the first occurrence prior to 3 Ma in Eastern Africa. The number of sites with cut-marked animal remains and stone tools increased after 2 Ma. In addition, toolkits became increasingly complex, and various, facilitating carcass defleshing and marrow recovery, the removal of quarters of meat to avoid carnivore competition, and allowing the emergence of cooperative (i.e., social) hunting of large herbivores. How can we assess the energy costs and benefits of meat and fat acquisition and consumption for hunter-gatherers in the past, and is it possible to accurately evaluate them? Answering this question would provide a better understanding of extinct hominin land use, food resource management, foraging strategies, and cognitive abilities related to meat and fat acquisition, processing, and consumption. According to the Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT), resources may be chosen primarily on the basis of their efficiency rank in term of calories. But, could other factors, and not only calorific return, prevail in the choice of prey, such as the acquisition of non-food products, like pelts, bone tools or ornaments, or symbolic or traditional uses? Our main goal here is to question the direct application of behavioral ecology data to archeology. For this purpose, we focus on the issue of animal meat and fat consumption in human evolution. We propose a short review of available data from energetics and ethnographic records, and provide examples of several various-sized extant animals, such as elephants, reindeer, or lagomorphs, which were some of the most common preys of Paleolithic hominins.
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Duke H, Feibel C, Harmand S. Before the Acheulean: The emergence of bifacial shaping at Kokiselei 6 (1.8 Ma), West Turkana, Kenya. J Hum Evol 2021; 159:103061. [PMID: 34481224 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
We present new evidence for the emergence of biface shaping from Kokiselei 6 in the Kokiselei Site Complex (KS) in West Turkana, Kenya. This rich and well-preserved new site presents an opportunity to investigate the earliest development of biface shaping. The emergence of biface shaping in lithic technology is often used as evidence for increased and/or novel cognitive abilities that contrast prior hominins' flaking capacities. Yet, recent research reveals a story of gradual change over time in a variety of different flaking and shaping strategies. Here, we present preliminary excavation and lithic data from Kokiselei 6 that will be critical for future investigations of biface shaping emergence at KS. Kokiselei preserves the oldest known Acheulean lithic assemblage, Kokiselei 4 (1.76 Ma), as well as several older sites. Geochronological research shows that Kokiselei 6 stratigraphically underlies Kokiselei 4 and is the oldest site in the complex at 1.8 Ma. The Kokiselei 6 excavation yielded thousands of piece-plotted lithic artifacts and faunal remains. Preliminary analysis of the lithics (n = 3856) indicates a prevalence of bifacial flaking strategies alongside minimal evidence for rough biface shaping. We argue that the flaking strategies observed from bifacial cores share similar operations and abilities as those involved in the production of the roughly shaped bifaces at the site. This preliminary evidence supports existing arguments that biface shaping emerged gradually out of variability in bifacial core reduction, ultimately leading to the systematic production of bifaces characteristic of the Acheulean. Future work teasing apart the processes of technological change at KS more broadly will be critical for understanding the emergence of biface shaping. These new data add to a growing narrative that opposes long-held assumptions about hominin cognitive evolution that suggest Acheulean technology required new, and more complex, cognitive abilities and gestures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hilary Duke
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Circle Rd., SBS Building S-501, Stony Brook, New York 11794-4364, USA.
| | - Craig Feibel
- Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University, 131 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1414, USA
| | - Sonia Harmand
- Department of Anthropology, Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Circle Rd., SBS Building S-501, Stony Brook, New York 11794-4364, USA; UMR 7055, CNRS - Université Paris Nanterre, MAE, 21 allée de l'Université, 92023 Nanterre Cedex, France
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14
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Silva-Gago M, Fedato A, Terradillos-Bernal M, Alonso-Alcalde R, Martín-Guerra E, Bruner E. Not a matter of shape: The influence of tool characteristics on electrodermal activity in response to haptic exploration of Lower Palaeolithic tools. Am J Hum Biol 2021; 34:e23612. [PMID: 34000102 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Revised: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Haptics involves somatosensory perception through the skin surface and dynamic touch based on the proprioceptive response of the whole body. Handling Palaeolithic stone tools influences the arousal and attentional engagement, which can be detected and measured through electrodermal activity. Although tool shape has generally been studied to consider tool functions or tool making, it is also a major factor in tool sensing and haptic perception. The purpose of this survey is to analyze whether the electrodermal reactions are influenced by stone tool morphology. METHODS We first quantify the morphological variability of 72 stone tools through geometric morphometrics. Then, 12 stone tools from the previous sample were randomly selected to perform the electrodermal analysis in a sample of 46 right-handed adults. RESULTS Elongation is the main factor involved in Lower Palaeolithic shape variation, followed by the position of the maximum thickness. Attention and manipulation time are mainly influenced by tool size, while arousal mostly correlates with tool weight. Electrodermal activity is apparently not influenced by the overall tool shape. Tool size, weight, and base morphology are the variables that mainly trigger an electrodermal reaction. CONCLUSIONS Electrophysiological reaction is more sensitive to specific physical features of the tool than to its general outline. These features are not particularly different in worked pebbles and handaxes in terms of grasping, but underwent remarkable changes in other technological traditions. That changes associated with behavioral performances can be employed in cognitive archaeology to investigate the relationships between tool sensing and tool use.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Silva-Gago
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain
| | - Annapaola Fedato
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain
| | | | - Rodrigo Alonso-Alcalde
- Museo de la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain.,Área de Prehistoria, Universidad de Burgos, Burgos, Spain
| | - Elena Martín-Guerra
- Sociograph Marketing Science Consulting, Plaza Campus Universitario 1, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Emiliano Bruner
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain
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15
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Key AJM, Roberts DL, Jarić I. Statistical inference of earlier origins for the first flaked stone technologies. J Hum Evol 2021; 154:102976. [PMID: 33773284 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Revised: 02/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Identifying when hominins first produced Lomekwian, Oldowan, and Acheulean technologies is vital to multiple avenues of human origins research. Yet, like most archaeological endeavors, our understanding is currently only as accurate as the artifacts recovered and the sites identified. Here we use optimal linear estimation (OLE) modelling to identify the portion of the archaeological record not yet discovered, and statistically infer the date of origin of the earliest flaked stone technologies. These models provide the most accurate framework yet for understanding when hominins first produced these tool types. Our results estimate the Oldowan to have originated 2.617 to 2.644 Ma, 36,000 to 63,000 years earlier than current evidence. The Acheulean's origin is pushed back further through OLE, by at least 55,000 years to 1.815 to 1.823 Ma. We were unable to infer the Lomekwian's date of origin using OLE, but an upper bound of 5.1 million years can be inferred using alternative nonparametric techniques. These dates provide a new chronological foundation from which to understand the emergence of the first flaked stone technologies, alongside their behavioral and evolutionary implications. Moreover, they suggest there to be substantial portions of the artifact record yet to be discovered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alastair J M Key
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NR, UK.
| | - David L Roberts
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NR, UK
| | - Ivan Jarić
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic; University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecosystem Biology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
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16
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Stollhofen H, Stanistreet IG, Toth N, Schick KD, Rodríguez-Cintas A, Albert RM, Farrugia P, Njau JK, Pante MC, Herrmann EW, Ruck L, Bamford MK, Blumenschine RJ, Masao FT. Olduvai's oldest Oldowan. J Hum Evol 2020; 150:102910. [PMID: 33271475 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Previously, Olduvai Bed I excavations revealed Oldowan assemblages <1.85 Ma, mainly in the eastern gorge. New western gorge excavations locate a much older ∼2.0 Ma assemblage between the Coarse Feldspar Crystal Tuff (∼2.015 Ma) and Tuff IA (∼1.98 Ma) of Lower Bed I, predating the oldest eastern gorge DK assemblage below Tuff IB by ∼150 kyr. We characterize this newly discovered fossil and artifact assemblage, adding information on landscape and hominin resource use during the ∼2.3-2.0 Ma period, scarce in Oldowan sites. Assemblage lithics and bones, lithofacies boundaries, and phytolith samples were surveyed and mapped. Sedimentological facies analysis, tephrostratigraphic and sequence stratigraphic principles were applied to reconstruct paleoenvironments and sedimentary processes of sandy claystone (lake), sandstone (fluvial), and sandy diamictite (debris flow) as principal lithofacies. Artifacts, sized, weighed, categorized, were examined for petrography, retouch, and flake scar size. Taxonomic classifications and taphonomic descriptions of faunal remains were made, and phytoliths were categorized based on reference collections. Lithics are dominantly quartzite, mainly debitage and less frequently simple cores, retouched pieces, and percussors. Well-rounded spheroids and retouched flakes are rare. Identifiable taxa, Ceratotherium cf. simum (white rhinoceros) and Equus cf. oldowayensis (extinct zebra), accord with nearby open savanna grasslands, inferred from C3 grass, mixed and/or alternating with C4 grass-dominated phytolith assemblages. Palms, sedges, and dicots were also identified from phytoliths. Diatoms and sponge spicules imply nearby freshwater. The assemblage accumulated at the toe of a Ngorongoro Volcano-sourced fan-delta apron of stacked debris flows, fluvials, and tuffs, preserving fossil tree stumps and wooded grassland phytoliths farther upfan. It formed after the climax of Ngorongoro volcanic activity during a Paleolake Olduvai lowstand and was then buried and preserved by lacustrine clays, marking the first of two lake transgressions, signifying wetter climates. Orbital precessional lake cycles were superposed upon multimillennial (∼4.9 kyr) lake fluctuations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harald Stollhofen
- GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schlossgarten 5, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
| | - Ian G Stanistreet
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Street, Liverpool L69 3GP, UK; The Stone Age Institute, 1392 W. Dittemore Rd., Gosport, IN, 47433, USA
| | - Nicholas Toth
- The Stone Age Institute, 1392 W. Dittemore Rd., Gosport, IN, 47433, USA; Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA; Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN, 47405-1405, USA
| | - Kathy D Schick
- The Stone Age Institute, 1392 W. Dittemore Rd., Gosport, IN, 47433, USA; Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA; Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN, 47405-1405, USA
| | - Agata Rodríguez-Cintas
- ERAAUB, Department of History and Archaeology, Universitat de Barcelona, c/ Montalegre 6-8, 08001 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Rosa M Albert
- ERAAUB, Department of History and Archaeology, Universitat de Barcelona, c/ Montalegre 6-8, 08001 Barcelona, Spain; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Pg. Lluis Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Spain; Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, P Bag 3, WITS, 2050, South Africa
| | - Paul Farrugia
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN, 47405-1405, USA
| | - Jackson K Njau
- The Stone Age Institute, 1392 W. Dittemore Rd., Gosport, IN, 47433, USA; Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN, 47405-1405, USA
| | - Michael C Pante
- Department of Anthropology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Edward W Herrmann
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN, 47405-1405, USA
| | - Lana Ruck
- Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
| | - Marion K Bamford
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, P Bag 3, WITS, 2050, South Africa
| | - Robert J Blumenschine
- Paleontological Scientific Trust (PAST), P.O. Box 52379, Saxonwold, 2132, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Fidelis T Masao
- Archaeology Unit, Department of History, University of Dar Es Salaam, P.O. Box 35051, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
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Sistiaga A, Husain F, Uribelarrea D, Martín-Perea DM, Ferland T, Freeman KH, Diez-Martín F, Baquedano E, Mabulla A, Domínguez-Rodrigo M, Summons RE. Microbial biomarkers reveal a hydrothermally active landscape at Olduvai Gorge at the dawn of the Acheulean, 1.7 Ma. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:24720-24728. [PMID: 32934140 PMCID: PMC7547214 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2004532117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Landscape-scale reconstructions of ancient environments within the cradle of humanity may reveal insights into the relationship between early hominins and the changing resources around them. Many studies of Olduvai Gorge during Pliocene-Pleistocene times have revealed the presence of precession-driven wet-dry cycles atop a general aridification trend, though may underestimate the impact of local-scale conditions on early hominins, who likely experienced a varied and more dynamic landscape. Fossil lipid biomarkers from ancient plants and microbes encode information about their surroundings via their molecular structures and composition, and thus can shed light on past environments. Here, we employ fossil lipid biomarkers to study the paleolandscape at Olduvai Gorge at the emergence of the Acheulean technology, 1.7 Ma, through the Lower Augitic Sandstones layer. In the context of the expansion of savanna grasslands, our results represent a resource-rich mosaic ecosystem populated by groundwater-fed rivers, aquatic plants, angiosperm shrublands, and edible plants. Evidence of a geothermally active landscape is reported via an unusual biomarker distribution consistent with the presence of hydrothermal features seen today at Yellowstone National Park. The study of hydrothermalism in ancient settings and its impact on hominin evolution has not been addressed before, although the association of thermal springs in the proximity of archaeological sites documented here can also be found at other localities. The hydrothermal features and resources present at Olduvai Gorge may have allowed early hominins to thermally process edible plants and meat, supporting the possibility of a prefire stage of human evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ainara Sistiaga
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
- GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Fatima Husain
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
| | - David Uribelarrea
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), University of Alcalá, 28010, Madrid, Spain
- Geodynamics, Stratigraphy and Palaeontology Department, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - David M Martín-Perea
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), University of Alcalá, 28010, Madrid, Spain
- Geodynamics, Stratigraphy and Palaeontology Department, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
- Paleobiology Department, National Natural Sciences Museum, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Troy Ferland
- Department of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - Katherine H Freeman
- Department of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
| | - Fernando Diez-Martín
- Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, Universidad de Valladolid, 47002 Valladolid, Spain
| | | | - Audax Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, 35050 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), University of Alcalá, 28010, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Philosophy and History (Area of Prehistory), University of Alcalá, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Roger E Summons
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
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18
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A 1.4-million-year-old bone handaxe from Konso, Ethiopia, shows advanced tool technology in the early Acheulean. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:18393-18400. [PMID: 32661154 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2006370117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In the past decade, the early Acheulean before 1 Mya has been a focus of active research. Acheulean lithic assemblages have been shown to extend back to ∼1.75 Mya, and considerable advances in core reduction technologies are seen by 1.5 to 1.4 Mya. Here we report a bifacially flaked bone fragment (maximum dimension ∼13 cm) of a hippopotamus femur from the ∼1.4 Mya sediments of the Konso Formation in southern Ethiopia. The large number of flake scars and their distribution pattern, together with the high frequency of cone fractures, indicate anthropogenic flaking into handaxe-like form. Use-wear analyses show quasi-continuous alternate microflake scars, wear polish, edge rounding, and striae patches along an ∼5-cm-long edge toward the handaxe tip. The striae run predominantly oblique to the edge, with some perpendicular, on both the cortical and inner faces. The combined evidence is consistent with the use of this bone artifact in longitudinal motions, such as in cutting and/or sawing. This bone handaxe is the oldest known extensively flaked example from the Early Pleistocene. Despite scarcity of well-shaped bone tools, its presence at Konso shows that sophisticated flaking was practiced by ∼1.4 Mya, not only on a range of lithic materials, but also occasionally on bone, thus expanding the documented technological repertoire of African Early Pleistocene Homo.
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19
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Muscle recruitment and stone tool use ergonomics across three million years of Palaeolithic technological transitions. J Hum Evol 2020; 144:102796. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2019] [Revised: 03/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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20
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Gallotti R, Mohib A, Fernandes P, El Graoui M, Lefèvre D, Raynal JP. Dedicated core-on-anvil production of bladelet-like flakes in the Acheulean at Thomas Quarry I - L1 (Casablanca, Morocco). Sci Rep 2020; 10:9225. [PMID: 32514002 PMCID: PMC7280310 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-65903-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to produce large cutting tools (LCTs) is considered as the technological marker of the Acheulean and the indicator of a greater technological complexity compared to the previous Oldowan. Although Acheulean techno-complexes are also composed of a concurrent core-and-flake technology, the iconic handaxes have attracted more attention than any other lithic component. Consequently, little is known of the small and medium-sized flake productions (small flaking), especially starting from 1 Ma, when handaxe and cleaver manufacture becomes intensive and widespread across Africa, including the Atlantic coastal regions of Morocco. Research at Thomas Quarry I yielded a rich early Acheulean lithic assemblage, mainly composed of quartzite LCTs and small flaking, together with a small-sized flint production. Here, we report a particular aspect of this flint assemblage, i.e. a flint bladelet-like flake production. This process represents a discrete technical behaviour among those related to small flaking both in quartzite and flint: pebbles were flaked using the bipolar-on-anvil technique repeatedly employing a specific method to produce bladelet-like flakes. This production represents the oldest dated occurrence of bladelet-like technology in Africa and reveals technical competencies hitherto unknown for these periods, providing further elements for the techno-economic diversification of the African Acheulean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosalia Gallotti
- Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, CNRS, LabEx Archimede - ANR-11-LABX-0032-01 - and UMR 5140 Archéologie des sociétés méditerranéennes, Campus Saint Charles, 34199, Montpellier, France. .,Université Bordeaux 1 UMR 5199 PACEA-PPP, Bâtiment B18 allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire CS 50023F, 33615, Pessac, Cedex, France.
| | - Abderrahim Mohib
- Centre d'interprétation du Patrimoine du Gharb, Direction provinciale de la Culture, Quartier administratif, Bd Mohamed V, Kenitra, Morocco
| | - Paul Fernandes
- Université Bordeaux 1 UMR 5199 PACEA-PPP, Bâtiment B18 allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire CS 50023F, 33615, Pessac, Cedex, France.,SARL Paleotime, 6173 rue Jean Séraphin Achard Picard, 38250, Villard-de-Lans, France
| | - Mohssine El Graoui
- Institut National des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du Patrimoine, Madinat Al Irfane, Angle rue N°5 et rue N°7, Rabat-Institut, BP, 6828, Rabat, Morocco
| | - David Lefèvre
- Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, CNRS, LabEx Archimede - ANR-11-LABX-0032-01 - and UMR 5140 Archéologie des sociétés méditerranéennes, Campus Saint Charles, 34199, Montpellier, France
| | - Jean-Paul Raynal
- Université Bordeaux 1 UMR 5199 PACEA-PPP, Bâtiment B18 allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire CS 50023F, 33615, Pessac, Cedex, France.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
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21
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Semaw S, Rogers MJ, Simpson SW, Levin NE, Quade J, Dunbar N, McIntosh WC, Cáceres I, Stinchcomb GE, Holloway RL, Brown FH, Butler RF, Stout D, Everett M. Co-occurrence of Acheulian and Oldowan artifacts with Homo erectus cranial fossils from Gona, Afar, Ethiopia. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaaw4694. [PMID: 32181331 PMCID: PMC7056306 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw4694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Although stone tools generally co-occur with early members of the genus Homo, they are rarely found in direct association with hominins. We report that both Acheulian and Oldowan artifacts and Homo erectus crania were found in close association at 1.26 million years (Ma) ago at Busidima North (BSN12), and ca. 1.6 to 1.5 Ma ago at Dana Aoule North (DAN5) archaeological sites at Gona, Afar, Ethiopia. The BSN12 partial cranium is robust and large, while the DAN5 cranium is smaller and more gracile, suggesting that H. erectus was probably a sexually dimorphic species. The evidence from Gona shows behavioral diversity and flexibility with a lengthy and concurrent use of both stone technologies by H. erectus, confounding a simple "single species/single technology" view of early Homo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sileshi Semaw
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos, Spain
- Stone Age Institute and CRAFT Research Center, 1392 W. Dittemore Rd., Gosport, IN 47408, USA
| | - Michael J. Rogers
- Department of Anthropology, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT 06515, USA
| | - Scott W. Simpson
- Department of Anatomy, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Laboratory of Physical Anthropology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Naomi E. Levin
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 1100 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Jay Quade
- Department of Geosciences/Desert Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Nelia Dunbar
- New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Earth and Environmental Science Department, New Mexico Tech, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801-4796, USA
| | - William C. McIntosh
- New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Earth and Environmental Science Department, New Mexico Tech, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801-4796, USA
| | - Isabel Cáceres
- Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain
- IPHES, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Zona Educacional 4–Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Gary E. Stinchcomb
- Watershed Studies Institute and Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Murray State University, Murray, KY 42071, USA
| | - Ralph L. Holloway
- Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, 1200 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Francis H. Brown
- The University of Utah, 201 South Presidents Circle Room 201, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Robert F. Butler
- Department of Physics, University of Portland, Portland, OR 97203, USA
| | - Dietrich Stout
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, 1557 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Melanie Everett
- Chevron Energy Technology Company, 1500 Louisiana St., Houston, TX 77002, USA
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22
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Key A, Proffitt T, de la Torre I. Raw material optimization and stone tool engineering in the Early Stone Age of Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania). J R Soc Interface 2020; 17:20190377. [PMID: 31910772 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2019.0377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
For more than 1.8 million years hominins at Olduvai Gorge were faced with a choice: whether to use lavas, quartzite or chert to produce stone tools. All are available locally and all are suitable for stone tool production. Using controlled cutting tests and fracture mechanics theory we examine raw material selection decisions throughout Olduvai's Early Stone Age. We quantify the force, work and material deformation required by each stone type when cutting, before using these data to compare edge sharpness and durability. Significant differences are identified, confirming performance to depend on raw material choice. When combined with artefact data, we demonstrate that Early Stone Age hominins optimized raw material choices based on functional performance characteristics. Doing so flexibly: choosing raw materials dependent on their sharpness and durability, alongside a tool's loading potential and anticipated use-life. In this way, we demonstrate that early lithic artefacts at Olduvai Gorge were engineered to be functionally optimized cutting tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alastair Key
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Marlowe Building, Canterbury CT2 7NZ, UK
| | - Tomos Proffitt
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK
| | - Ignacio de la Torre
- Departamento de Arqueología y Procesos Sociales, Instituto de Historia, CSIC, Albasanz 26-28, 28037 Madrid, Spain
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Fedato A, Silva-Gago M, Terradillos-Bernal M, Alonso-Alcalde R, Martín-Guerra E, Bruner E. Hand morphometrics, electrodermal activity, and stone tools haptic perception. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 32:e23370. [PMID: 31837092 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2019] [Revised: 11/21/2019] [Accepted: 11/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Tool use requires integration among sensorial, biomechanical, and cognitive factors. Taking into account the importance of tool use in human evolution, changes associated with the genus Homo are to be expected in all these three aspects. Haptics is based on both tactile and proprioceptive feedbacks, and it is associated with emotional reactions. Previous analyses have suggested a difference between males and females, and during haptic exploration of different typologies of stone tools. Here, we analyze the correlation between electrodermal reactions during stone tool handling and hand morphology to provide evidence of possible allometric factors shared by males and females. METHODS Electrodermal analysis was used to investigate some specific parameters involved in these reactions, such as changes in the level of attention and arousal. We analyzed the responses of 46 right-handed adults to 20 distinct stone tools while blindfolded. RESULTS Females have smaller hands and a wider range of electrodermal reactions. Within males and females, hand diameters and general hand size do not correlate with the degree of electrodermal level and response. CONCLUSIONS Sex differences in electrodemal reaction during stone tool handling are apparently not due to the effect of hand size or proportions. Differences between males and females are better interpreted as real sex differences, either due to a biological or cultural influences. Hand size does not influence the degree of arousal or attention during tool exploration, suggesting that other factors trigger individual reactions. These results add to a general cognitive approach on hand-tool evolution and tool sensing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annapaola Fedato
- Programa de paleobiología, Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain
| | - María Silva-Gago
- Programa de paleobiología, Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain
| | | | | | | | - Emiliano Bruner
- Programa de paleobiología, Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain
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McNabb J. "My Momma don tol me/When I was in knee pants": Why genetic arguments for Acheulean handaxes are more like singing the blues. Evol Anthropol 2019; 29:220-236. [PMID: 31828870 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Revised: 02/10/2019] [Accepted: 10/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The Acheulean handaxe has always been considered a social phenomenon. Corbey et al.35 provide a major challenge to this argument, arguing quite rightly, that it has never been independently established that handaxe temporal depth is a product of intergenerational social learning. They take a number of assumptions integral to the social argument and suggest, using parsimony, that a genetic explanation is equally as plausible for each of them. Complex structures, in hierarchically nested routines of action, can be built in the natural world by organisms following predetermined genetic sequences of actions triggered by external circumstances. However, there are some important points that the genetic argument dismisses that demonstrate an unequivocal social origin for the Acheulean handaxe. This article identifies those points and restores them to the debate. Parsimony affirms a social basis for handaxes and does not require a theoretical genetic predisposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- John McNabb
- Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
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25
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Favreau J. Mind the (Middle Pleistocene) gap? J Hum Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Site fragmentation, hominin mobility and LCT variability reflected in the early Acheulean record of the Okote Member, at Koobi Fora, Kenya. J Hum Evol 2018; 125:159-180. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2017] [Revised: 07/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Key AJM, Dunmore CJ. Manual restrictions on Palaeolithic technological behaviours. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5399. [PMID: 30128191 PMCID: PMC6098946 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2018] [Accepted: 07/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The causes of technological innovation in the Palaeolithic archaeological record are central to understanding Plio-Pleistocene hominin behaviour and temporal trends in artefact variation. Palaeolithic archaeologists frequently investigate the Oldowan-Acheulean transition and technological developments during the subsequent million years of the Acheulean technocomplex. Here, we approach the question of why innovative stone tool production techniques occur in the Lower Palaeolithic archaeological record from an experimental biomechanical and evolutionary perspective. Nine experienced flintknappers reproduced Oldowan flake tools, ‘early Acheulean’ handaxes, and ‘late Acheulean’ handaxes while pressure data were collected from their non-dominant (core-holding) hands. For each flake removal or platform preparation event performed, the percussor used, the stage of reduction, the core securing technique utilised, and the relative success of flake removals were recorded. Results indicate that more heavily reduced, intensively shaped handaxes with greater volumetric controls do not necessarily require significantly greater manual pressure than Oldowan flake tools or earlier ‘rougher’ handaxe forms. Platform preparation events do, however, require significantly greater pressure relative to either soft or hard hammer flake detachments. No significant relationships were identified between flaking success and pressure variation. Our results suggest that the preparation of flake platforms, a technological behaviour associated with the production of late Acheulean handaxes, could plausibly have been restricted prior to the emergence of more forceful precision-manipulative capabilities than those required for earlier lithic technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alastair J M Key
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher J Dunmore
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom
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Prassack KA, Pante MC, Njau JK, de la Torre I. The paleoecology of Pleistocene birds from Middle Bed II, at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, and the environmental context of the Oldowan-Acheulean transition. J Hum Evol 2018; 120:32-47. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2016] [Revised: 11/07/2017] [Accepted: 11/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Technological behaviour in the early Acheulean of EF-HR (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania). J Hum Evol 2018; 120:329-377. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Revised: 12/25/2017] [Accepted: 01/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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30
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Hominin raw material procurement in the Oldowan-Acheulean transition at Olduvai Gorge. J Hum Evol 2018; 120:378-401. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2016] [Revised: 11/19/2017] [Accepted: 11/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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31
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Uno KT, Rivals F, Bibi F, Pante M, Njau J, de la Torre I. Large mammal diets and paleoecology across the Oldowan–Acheulean transition at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania from stable isotope and tooth wear analyses. J Hum Evol 2018; 120:76-91. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2017] [Revised: 12/27/2017] [Accepted: 01/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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32
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Bibi F, Pante M, Souron A, Stewart K, Varela S, Werdelin L, Boisserie JR, Fortelius M, Hlusko L, Njau J, de la Torre I. Paleoecology of the Serengeti during the Oldowan-Acheulean transition at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania: The mammal and fish evidence. J Hum Evol 2018; 120:48-75. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2017] [Revised: 10/12/2017] [Accepted: 10/14/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Tephrochronology of Bed II, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, and placement of the Oldowan–Acheulean transition. J Hum Evol 2018; 120:7-18. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.12.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2017] [Revised: 12/15/2017] [Accepted: 12/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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34
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de la Torre I, McHenry L, Njau J. From the Oldowan to the Acheulean at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania - An introduction to the special issue. J Hum Evol 2018; 120:1-6. [PMID: 29753442 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2018] [Accepted: 03/04/2018] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ignacio de la Torre
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, WC1H 0PY London, United Kingdom.
| | - Lindsay McHenry
- Department of Geosciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 3209 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53211, USA
| | - Jackson Njau
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 E 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA; Stone Age Institute, 1392 W Dittemore Rd., Gosport, IN 47433, USA
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35
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Wynn
- Department of Anthropology, Center for Cognitive Archaeology; University of Colorado
| | - John Gowlett
- Department of Archaeology, Classics, and Egyptology; University of Liverpool; United Kingdom
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de la Torre I. The origins of the Acheulean: past and present perspectives on a major transition in human evolution. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 371:rstb.2015.0245. [PMID: 27298475 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of the Acheulean from the earlier Oldowan constitutes a major transition in human evolution, the theme of this special issue. This paper discusses the evidence for the origins of the Acheulean, a cornerstone in the history of human technology, from two perspectives; firstly, a review of the history of investigations on Acheulean research is presented. This approach introduces the evolution of theories throughout the development of the discipline, and reviews the way in which cumulative knowledge led to the prevalent explanatory framework for the emergence of the Acheulean. The second part presents the current state of the art in Acheulean origins research, and reviews the hard evidence for the appearance of this technology in Africa around 1.7 Ma, and its significance for the evolutionary history of Homo erectusThis article is part of the themed issue 'Major transitions in human evolution'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignacio de la Torre
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK
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The origin of the Acheulean. Techno-functional study of the FLK W lithic record (Olduvai, Tanzania). PLoS One 2017; 12:e0179212. [PMID: 28767645 PMCID: PMC5540295 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2017] [Accepted: 05/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Acheulean materials documented in FLK West dated c. 1.7 Ma. are the focus of the present work. An original techno-functional approach is applied here to analyze the origin of Acheulean tools. According to the results, these tools were employed in different functional contexts in which tasks of different durations that transformed resources with different resistances were carried out. The exploitation of large and resistant resources suggests that the economic mechanism governing the manufacture of these tools was an increase in the demand of the work load. The decision processes underlying the production of these tools have thus an evident functional motivation. However, the presence of a refined handaxe in the studied sample indicates that the design form and production principles of handaxe manufacture were the result of an abrupt emergence rather than a long gradual development. The integration of mechanical and ergonomic investigation in our research has been crucial to explain how a core-and-flake industry gave way to a technology based on the production of large and heavy shaped tools.
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Gärdenfors P, Högberg A. The Archaeology of Teaching and the Evolution ofHomo docens. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1086/691178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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