News Section | Evolution
Training for cutting tools developed human brain 80,000 years ago
A new study has found that advanced crafting of stone spearheads contributed to the development of new ways of human thinking and behaving 80,000 years ago.
Archaeologists at Lund University found that the technology took a long time to acquire, required step-by-step planning and increased social interaction across the generations, which led to the human brain developing new abilities.
The findings show that people at that time used advanced technology for the production of spearheads and that the complicated crafting process developed the working memory and social life of humans.
“When the technology was passed from one generation to the next, from adults to children, it became part of a cultural learning process which created a socially more advanced society than before,” Anders Hogberg, PhD, said.
“This affected the development of the human brain and cognitive ability,” he stated.
The technology led to increased social interaction within and across the generations. This happened because the crafting of stone spearheads took a long time to learn and required a lot of knowledge, both theoretical and practical.
This social learning contributed to the subsequent development of early modern humans’ cognitive ability to express symbolism and abstract thoughts through their material culture, for example in the form of decorated objects.
The findings have been published in the Journal of Human Evolution.
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