Long-distance stone transport and pigment use in the earliest Middle Stone Age

Science. 2018 Apr 6;360(6384):90-94. doi: 10.1126/science.aao2646. Epub 2018 Mar 15.

Abstract

Previous research suggests that the complex symbolic, technological, and socioeconomic behaviors that typify Homo sapiens had roots in the middle Pleistocene <200,000 years ago, but data bearing on human behavioral origins are limited. We present a series of excavated Middle Stone Age sites from the Olorgesailie basin, southern Kenya, dating from ≥295,000 to ~320,000 years ago by argon-40/argon-39 and uranium-series methods. Hominins at these sites made prepared cores and points, exploited iron-rich rocks to obtain red pigment, and procured stone tool materials from ≥25- to 50-kilometer distances. Associated fauna suggests a broad resource strategy that included large and small prey. These practices imply notable changes in how individuals and groups related to the landscape and to one another and provide documentation relevant to human social and cognitive evolution.

Publication types

  • Historical Article
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Psychological
  • Coloring Agents / history*
  • History, Ancient
  • Human Characteristics*
  • Humans
  • Kenya
  • Social Behavior / history*
  • Socioeconomic Factors / history*

Substances

  • Coloring Agents