A recent study conducted by the University of Missouri and published in Pnas, the journal of the American Academy of Sciences, reveals that Humans began to accumulate technological knowledge about 600,000 years ago. This process has allowed humans to adapt to a wide range of different habitats.
Anthropologists Jonathan Paige and Charles Perreault conducted a study to determine when the so-called “cumulative culture” arose. They analyzed the complexity of stone tool production techniques over the past 3.3 million years. To do this, they compared the technologies used by the primates non-humans with the results of experiments production of stone tools carried out by inexperienced people.
The evolution of tool manufacturing techniques in about 600,000 years ago
The results show that up to 1.8 million years ago, stone tool production techniques were very simple. Between 1.8 millions and 600,000 years ago, there was a gradual increase in complexity, which slightly exceeded the baseline level. About 600,000 years agoinstead, a rapid increase in complexity. This change indicates that the accumulation of technological knowledge began towards the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene, probably before the divergence between Neanderthals and beings humans modern.
According to the researchers, these findings suggest that the origin of cumulative culture is linked to human evolution, in particular to the increase in mass. cerebral and lengthening lifespan.
This research offers new insights into how humans have developed the ability to adapt e thrive in different environments Thank you to the accumulation of technological knowledge. This ability to continuously innovate and improve existing techniques has played a crucial role in our evolutionary success.
What do you think of this study? You think that the ability to accumulate technological knowledge continues to be a factor decisive for our future?
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