The Revolution That Wasn't: A New Interpretation of Modern Human Origins

The Fallacy of the "Human Revolution"

• Definition of the Model: Proponents of the "human revolution" claim modern human behaviors arose suddenly and simultaneously across the Old World ca. $40-50\text{ ka}$.

• Theoretical Implications: This shift is purported to signal a cognitive advance, brain reorganization, and the origin of language.

• The "Time Lag" Paradox: Anatomically modern humans ($H. sapiens$) appear in Africa and the Levant at >100\text{ ka}. The revolution model creates a problematic gap where early Africans appear anatomically modern but "behaviorally primitive."

• Eurocentric Bias: The model stems from 19th-century interpretations of European prehistory, where the record is characterized by discontinuities due to climate-induced population replacements.

• Alternative Model: The authors propose a gradual "assembling of the package" of modern behaviors within the African Middle Stone Age ($MSA$) starting over $250-300\text{ ka}$.

African Hominid Fossil Record and Taxonomy

• Species Differentiation: The authors distinguish "archaic" from "modern" at the species level.

  • Group 1: Earlier Middle Pleistocene hominids ($H. erectus$, $H. ergaster$, $H. louisleakeyi$, $H. rhodesiensis$) associated with Acheulian ($ESA$) technology.

  • Group 2: Fossils exhibiting increased frontal curvature but remaining outside modern variation ($H. helmei$), associated with the earliest $MSA$ technology (e.g., Florisbad at $260\text{ ka}$).

  • Group 3: $H. sapiens$ sensu stricto, appearing by $130\text{ ka}$ and possibly as early as $190\text{ ka}$ (Singa specimen).

• Behavior via Fossils:

  • Gracilization: The shift toward anatomical modernity involves a reversal of robusticity, suggesting a relaxation of selection for close encounters with prey.

  • Pathology and Social Support: Specimens like Saldanha (deformed) and Singa (deafness) suggest survival required group intervention/care.

  • Cannibalism: Cutmarks on the Bodo skull and Klasies River remains indicate ritualized defleshing or cannibalism.

Technological Innovations in the Middle Stone Age

• The Acheulian-MSA Boundary: Occurred ca. $250-300\text{ ka}$. Signaled the shift from handheld bifaces to hafted, smaller flake tools (Mode 3).

• Blade Technology:

  • Previously thought to be an Upper Paleolithic "innovation."

  • Kapthurin Formation (Kenya): Documentation of sophisticated blade production (Mode 4) before $280\text{ ka}$.

• Bone Tool Industry:

  • Katanda (D.R. Congo): Barbed and unbarbed bone points dated to ca. $90\text{ ka}$.

  • Blombos Cave (South Africa): Polished bone awls and points associated with the Still Bay industry, dated to >70\text{ ka}.

• Projectile Technology:

  • Hafting: Tangs on Aterian points and basal thinning on others facilitate spear or arrow attachment.

  • Evidence: A stone point fragment was found embedded in a Pelorovis (extinct giant buffalo) vertebra at Klasies River.

• Microlithic Tech: Backed geometric microliths (Mode 5) appear in the Howiesons Poort and Mumba industries by $65-70\text{ ka}$.

Economy, Ecology, and Social Organization

• Geographic Expansion: $MSA$ sites are found in diverse habitats, including tropical forests (Lupemban) and arid deserts (Aterian), implying complex environmental management.

• Intensified Resource Use:

  • Aquatic Resources: Evidence of catfish exploitation at Katanda ($90\text{ ka}$) and marine shellfish/deep-sea fish at Blombos and Klasies River.

  • Plant Processing: Systematic use of grindstones for seeds and pigments begins in the late Acheulian/early $MSA$.

• Long Distance Trade: Obsidian transport in East Africa (e.g., from Njorowa Gorge to Muguruk) covered distances exceeding $190-300\text{ km}$, suggesting established social exchange networks.

• Site Structure: Postholes and windbreaks at Seggedim and Mumbwa Cave indicate structured living spaces and formal hearths.

Symbolic Behavior and Art

• Pigment Use: Systematic processing of red ochre (hematite) is documented at Kapthurin ($280\text{ ka}$) and Twin Rivers ($230\text{ ka}$).

• Art and Adornment:

  • Incised Objects: Ochre plaques from Blombos and Hollow Rock Shelter show cross-hatched engravings dated to >70\text{ ka}.

  • Beads: Ostrich eggshell beads at Enkapune ya Muto ($40\text{ ka}$) and Mumba ($52\text{ ka}$); perforated Conus shell at Border Cave ($105\text{ ka}$).

• Burial Rituals:

  • Taramsa Hill (Egypt): Juvenile skeleton in a seated position dated to $50-80\text{ ka}$.

  • Border Cave: Infant burial with a shell pendant ($BC3$) dated to >100\text{ ka}.