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The emergence of technology: A cultural step or long-term evolution?

Eudald CARBONELL, Marina MOSQUERA & Xosé-Pedro RODRÍGUEZ-ÁLVAREZ

en Comptes Rendus Palevol 6 (3) - Pages 231-233

Published on 31 March 2007

There are two hypotheses to explain the emergence of the technical behaviour: (1) a sudden and fast appearance across the African continent; (2) a long period of emergence and consolidation before it began to spread. We defend this second hypothesis and suggest that the hominid project started around 3 Myr ago, with a ‘biofunctional’ stage. Later than 2.5 Myr, the ‘biomorphotechnical’ stage began (Mode 1), and, at around 1.7 Myr, another stage emerged and developed: the ‘biopotential’ stage (Mode 2). All these stages consist of a two-part process: innovation/emergence, and socialization/generalization of a technical mode.


Keywords:

Technical behaviour, Lithic tools, socialization, Plio-Pleistocene, dispersal

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