Early knapping techniques do not necessitate cultural transmission.

ABSTRACT: Early stone tool production, or knapping, techniques are claimed to be the earliest evidence for cultural transmission in the human lineage. Previous experimental studies have trained human participants to knap in conditions involving opportunities for cultural transmission. Subsequent knapping was then interpreted as evidence for a necessity of the provided cultural transmission opportunities for these techniques. However, a valid necessity claim requires showing that individual learning alone cannot lead to early knapping techniques. Here, we tested human participants (N = 28) in cultural isolation for the individual learning of early knapping techniques by providing them with relevant raw materials and a puzzle task as motivation. Twenty-five participants were technique naïve acc

SUBMITTER: Snyder WD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9258951 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature