Episode 3 - Invention and Retention

Written By Nicholas Camferdam
Simple core tool, typical of those found at the site of Dmanisi. Note the lack of symmetry, the rough, uneven cutting edge, and the majority of the sides which remain untouched.

Simple core tool, typical of those found at the site of Dmanisi. Note the lack of symmetry, the rough, uneven cutting edge, and the majority of the sides which remain untouched.

Humans and their ancestors are notoriously messy, but of all the things they leave on the ground, what survives the longest is rocks. In this episode, we take a look at the origins and development of (arguably) the first technology in history, stone tools, and what the Near Eastern archaeological record can tell us about them. From that specific example though, we also take a look at how hominins gain and hold onto knowledge generally, and how that knowledge builds on itself into something entirely new.

Nicholas Toth shows how early humans made stone tools that were simple but effective. Website: https://www.bighistoryproject.com/portal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bighistoryproject Twitter: https://twitter.com/BigHistoryPro

Sources

Books

  1. Ayala, F. J., & Conde, C. J. C. (2017). Processes in Human Evolution: The Journey from Early Hominins to Neanderthals and Modern Humans. Oxford University Press.

  2. Dennell, R. (2008). The Paleolithic Settlement of Asia. Cambridge University Press.

  3. Herrera, R. J., & Garcia-Bertrand, R. (2018). Ancestral DNA, Human Origins, and Migrations. Elsevier Academic Press.

  4. Heyes, C. M., & Huber, L. (Eds.). (2000). The Evolution of Cognition. MIT Press.

  5. Laland, K. N. (2017). Darwin's Unfinished Symphony (pp. 151-155). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

  6. Renfrew, C., & Bahn, P. (Eds.). (2014). The Cambridge World Prehistory. Cambridge University Press.

  7. Roberts, J. M., & Westad, O. M. (2014). The Penguin History of the World, 6th Edition. Penguin Random House.

  8. Schaller, M., Norenzayan, A., Heine, S. J., Yamagishi, T., & Kameda, T. (2011). Evolution, Culture, and the Human Mind. Psychology Press.

  9. Shea, J. J. (2013). Stone Tools in the Paleolithic and Neolithic Near East: A Guide. Cambridge University Press.

  10. Shea, J. J. (2016). Stone Tools in Human Evolution: Behavioral Differences among Technological Primates. Cambridge University Press.

  11. Torrence, R., Audouze, F., Renfrew, C., Schlanger, N., Sherratt, A., Taylor, T., & Ashmore, W. (Eds.). (1989). Time, Energy and Stone Tools. Cambridge University Press.

  12. Tylor, E. B. (1871). Primitive Culture: Volume I. Dover Thrift Editions

  13. Wenke, R. J., & Olszewski, D. (2006). Patterns in Prehistory: Humankind's First Three Million Years. New York: Oxford University Press.

Research Papers

  1. Baena, J., Lordkipanidze, D., Cuartero, F., Ferring, R., Zhvania, D., Martín, D., ... & Rubio, D. (2010). Technical and technological complexity in the beginning: the study of Dmanisi lithic assemblage. Quaternary International, 223, 45-53.

  2. Harmand, S., Lewis, J. E., Feibel, C. S., Lepre, C. J., Prat, S., Lenoble, A., ... & Taylor, N. (2015). 3.3-million-year-old stone tools from Lomekwi 3, West Turkana, Kenya. Nature, 521(7552), 310.

  3. Mgeladze, A., Lordkipanidze, D., Moncel, M. H., Despriee, J., Chagelishvili, R., Nioradze, M., & Nioradze, G. (2011). Hominin occupations at the Dmanisi site, Georgia, Southern Caucasus: Raw materials and technical behaviours of Europe’s first hominins. Journal of Human Evolution, 60(5), 571-596.

  4. Nakamura, M., Hosaka, K., Itoh, N., Matsumoto, T., Matsusaka, T., Nakazawa, N., ... & Yamagami, M. (2019). Wild chimpanzees deprived a leopard of its kill: Implications for the origin of hominin confrontational scavenging. Journal of human evolution, 131, 129-138.

  5. Stout, D. (2011). Stone toolmaking and the evolution of human culture and cognition. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 366(1567), 1050-1059.

  6. Stout, D., & Chaminade, T. (2012). Stone tools, language and the brain in human evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 367(1585), 75-87.

  7. Vaesen, K. (2012). The cognitive bases of human tool use. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 35(4), 203-218.

Articles

  1. Georgiou, A. (July 3, 2019). These Stone Tools Made 2.6 Million Years are the Oldest of their Kind. Newsweek. Retrieved from https://www.newsweek.com/these-stone-tools-made-26-million-years-are-oldest-their-kind-1441861

  2. Gibbons, A. (November 22, 2016). Meet the frail, small-brained people who first trekked out of Africa. Science Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/11/meet-frail-small-brained-people-who-first-trekked-out-africa

  3. Lewis, D. (June 4, 2019). For those about to rock: the birthplace of humanity’s tool kit found. Cosmos Magazine. Retrieved from https://cosmosmagazine.com/archaeology/for-those-about-to-rock-the-birthplace-of-humanity-s-tool-kit-found

  4. Thompson, H. (May 20, 2015). The Oldest Stone Tools Yet Discovered Are Unearthed in Kenya. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/oldest-known-stone-tools-unearthed-kenya-180955341/

Nicholas Camferdam
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Episode 4 - A Paleolithic Swiss Army Knife
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Episode 2 - The First Near Easterners