Cultural and social evolution
Evolution of stone tools and prehistoric art
Culture: a collection of artefacts (kunstproduct) made in a characteristic way at a
certain place and transmitted over a certain time period
Artefact: object from the environment modified to serve a certain purpose
Animals use materials to make artefacts (a nest) but their manufacture is purely
instinctual
o Chimpanzees use stones to crack nuts – but these stones are never shaped
or modified
Modification of an object to use it as a tool is typically human (this is not applicable
anymore – animals can do this also)
The fact that some animals use artefact does not mean they have culture because it
is only a part of culture. Do animals have culture?
Evidence for this:
1. Japanese macaques who clean sweet potatoes in the seawater and have
retained this habit since 1958
2. Chimpanzees use stones to throw away competitors – between chimpanzee
populations there are differences in the way they throw the stones
Stone cultures
1. Oldowan tools (mode 1) ± 2,5 Ma BP– Africa and eastern side
of Asia
a. Ascribed to Homo habilis
b. Simple hammer stones and flakes – unifacial
c. Homo habilis modified flint stones (vuurstenen) to make
hand axes, hammer stones, cutting tools and scrapers
(zager)
d. Evidence of the use of this tool: 1) flakes found 2) cut marks
on fossil bones indicating attempts to cut off meat – found 3,4
Ma BP in Ethiopia so this indicates that there is possible use
of stone tools before Oldowan culture (pre-Oldowan tools) +
pre-Oldowan tools also found 3,3 Ma BP in Kenia
So, could Australopithecus make stone tools? – yes
The hand of Australopithecus sediba has some primitive straits compared
to Homo sapiens but is suitable to make a “forceps” grip, necessary to
make tools
2. Acheulean tools (mode 2) ±1,5 Ma BP to 200 ka BP– Africa and
Europa later in Western Asia
a. Ascribed to Homo ergaster/erectus partly also to
Homo heidelbergensis
b. Industrially prepared pointed hand axes – bifacial
c. They are also called the “Swish army knife” of
prehistory
Movius line separates Acheulean from Oldowan
, 3. Mousterian tools (mode 3)
a. Ascribed to Neanderthal
b. Flat and pointed structures of various kind
4. Aurignacian tools (modes 4 and 5)
a. One of the many cultures of Homo sapiens
b. Sharp knife-like stones and microliths (small tools)
The stone age: period when tools are started to use
Neolithic: 10000 -- 1000 BP
Paleolithic
o Late: 40000 BP – 10000 BP
o Middle: 250000 BP – 40000 BP
o Early: 2,7 Ma BP – 250000 BP
The classification is based on stone cultures not on absolute dates and differs per
continent
The cultural revolution in Europe
40-30 ka BP: explosion of cultural expressions (stone tools,
decorations, cave paintings – ability for internal portrayal of the
external world)
Associated with the arrival of anatomically modern man (Cro-
magnon Man)
Homo sapiens
Cave paintings and art
o Lascaux caves in France: The Sistine chappel of prehistory –
must have served for better hunting for example Caves of
Altamira in Spain: 18.500-14.000 BP – famous for their
hunting scenes and polychrome paintings (veel kleuren)
o Venus figurines of Cro-magnon – may have been involved in
reproductive success
Some artefacts are not for rituals or success reproductive but for
pleasure or beauty
o Pierced shells in Blombos cave (South Africa;75.000 a BP) – used as beads of
a neckless
This indicates behaviour before the cultural explosion in Europe (So first in
Africa then in Europe
Evolution of stone tools and prehistoric art
Culture: a collection of artefacts (kunstproduct) made in a characteristic way at a
certain place and transmitted over a certain time period
Artefact: object from the environment modified to serve a certain purpose
Animals use materials to make artefacts (a nest) but their manufacture is purely
instinctual
o Chimpanzees use stones to crack nuts – but these stones are never shaped
or modified
Modification of an object to use it as a tool is typically human (this is not applicable
anymore – animals can do this also)
The fact that some animals use artefact does not mean they have culture because it
is only a part of culture. Do animals have culture?
Evidence for this:
1. Japanese macaques who clean sweet potatoes in the seawater and have
retained this habit since 1958
2. Chimpanzees use stones to throw away competitors – between chimpanzee
populations there are differences in the way they throw the stones
Stone cultures
1. Oldowan tools (mode 1) ± 2,5 Ma BP– Africa and eastern side
of Asia
a. Ascribed to Homo habilis
b. Simple hammer stones and flakes – unifacial
c. Homo habilis modified flint stones (vuurstenen) to make
hand axes, hammer stones, cutting tools and scrapers
(zager)
d. Evidence of the use of this tool: 1) flakes found 2) cut marks
on fossil bones indicating attempts to cut off meat – found 3,4
Ma BP in Ethiopia so this indicates that there is possible use
of stone tools before Oldowan culture (pre-Oldowan tools) +
pre-Oldowan tools also found 3,3 Ma BP in Kenia
So, could Australopithecus make stone tools? – yes
The hand of Australopithecus sediba has some primitive straits compared
to Homo sapiens but is suitable to make a “forceps” grip, necessary to
make tools
2. Acheulean tools (mode 2) ±1,5 Ma BP to 200 ka BP– Africa and
Europa later in Western Asia
a. Ascribed to Homo ergaster/erectus partly also to
Homo heidelbergensis
b. Industrially prepared pointed hand axes – bifacial
c. They are also called the “Swish army knife” of
prehistory
Movius line separates Acheulean from Oldowan
, 3. Mousterian tools (mode 3)
a. Ascribed to Neanderthal
b. Flat and pointed structures of various kind
4. Aurignacian tools (modes 4 and 5)
a. One of the many cultures of Homo sapiens
b. Sharp knife-like stones and microliths (small tools)
The stone age: period when tools are started to use
Neolithic: 10000 -- 1000 BP
Paleolithic
o Late: 40000 BP – 10000 BP
o Middle: 250000 BP – 40000 BP
o Early: 2,7 Ma BP – 250000 BP
The classification is based on stone cultures not on absolute dates and differs per
continent
The cultural revolution in Europe
40-30 ka BP: explosion of cultural expressions (stone tools,
decorations, cave paintings – ability for internal portrayal of the
external world)
Associated with the arrival of anatomically modern man (Cro-
magnon Man)
Homo sapiens
Cave paintings and art
o Lascaux caves in France: The Sistine chappel of prehistory –
must have served for better hunting for example Caves of
Altamira in Spain: 18.500-14.000 BP – famous for their
hunting scenes and polychrome paintings (veel kleuren)
o Venus figurines of Cro-magnon – may have been involved in
reproductive success
Some artefacts are not for rituals or success reproductive but for
pleasure or beauty
o Pierced shells in Blombos cave (South Africa;75.000 a BP) – used as beads of
a neckless
This indicates behaviour before the cultural explosion in Europe (So first in
Africa then in Europe
