2001/03/02 by Stanley H. Ambrose · 13 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Primate Behavior and Ecology #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Language and cultural evolution
paper · doi:10.1126/science.1059487
openalex publication_date 2001/03/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Human biological and cultural evolution are closely linked to technological innovations. Direct evidence for tool manufacture and use is absent before 2.5 million years ago (Ma), so reconstructions of australopithecine technology are based mainly on the behavior and anatomy of chimpanzees. Stone tool technology, robust australopithecines, and the genus Homo appeared almost simultaneously 2.5 Ma. Once this adaptive threshold was crossed, technological evolution was accompanied by increased brain size, population size, and geographical range. Aspects of behavior, economy, mental capacities, neurological functions, the origin of grammatical language, and social and symbolic systems have been inferred from the archaeological record of Paleolithic technology.