A familiar theory of cultural evolution says early humans experienced a 'revolution' in development, but new research shows that the process may have been more gradual.Using tools seems like second nature for humans today, but our prehistoric ancestors didn’t acquire this practical skill set overnight. The timeline of stone tool development by humans has been rearranged by new research, shaking up traditional views about the evolution of ancient human ingenuity.
The study reached this updated conclusion after analyzing trends related to human productivity with stone tools during the Middle-Upper Paleolithic , a transition between two crucial phases of human evolution.; through this method, particular areas of stones were struck with a hammer-like tool to extract a prepared ‘core’ flake, which would then be modified into cutting objects.
This period saw the arrival of several cultural features in anatomically modern humans, ushering in new technologies for tool making, seafaring capabilities, andThe MP-UP transition has largely been considered an abrupt change paired alongside the onset of swift cultural innovations.
The new study amends this story and appears to have overturned previous conclusions about human productivity.
With these findings, the trajectory of ancient human tool making has effectively been rerouted; multiple stages of change, not a single ‘revolution,’ may have defined the innovations that humans set in motion thousands of years ago.use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review them for accuracy and trustworthiness.