Breakthrough in Stone Tool Complexity Suggests Sudden Hominin Knowledge Surge 600,000 Years Ago
A recent study by anthropologists from the University of Missouri and Arizona State University reveals a significant leap in stone tool complexity around 600,000 years ago, suggesting a sudden increase in hominin knowledge. This development may help explain how modern humans and our ancestors became highly proficient at adapting to new environments.
University of Missouri anthropologist Jonathan Paige and Arizona State University anthropologist Charles Perreault, who authored the study, propose that this leap in tool-making sophistication could potentially predate the divergence of Neanderthals and modern humans, indicating a shared feature of both lineages.
Analyzing stone tool manufacturing techniques across 3.3 million years of human evolution, the researchers ranked 62 tool-makin...