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Baldwin effects in early stone tools.

Raymond Corbey¹

¹Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Evolutionary Anthropology

|August 25, 2020

Summary

Early stone tool technology, spanning two million years, may have had genetic influences alongside cultural learning. This research explores the Baldwin effect

Area of Science:

Paleolithic archaeology and paleoanthropology
Evolutionary biology and behavior
Cognitive archaeology and hominin evolution

Background:

A large dataset of lithic artifacts (millions) from Africa and Eurasia, covering over two million years of early Paleolithic tool technology, is now accessible.
The prevailing view posits that early stone tools, particularly from the Acheulean period onwards, were exclusively culturally transmitted (socially learned).

Observation:

A hypothesis challenges the exclusively cultural transmission model, suggesting that early hominin tool technology may have been partly under genetic control.
This hypothesis posits that tool-making, a vital survival strategy, was influenced by genetic factors in addition to other determinants.
The ongoing scientific discussion regarding the nature of early stone tool technology is explored, with a specific focus on the Baldwin effect.

Keywords:

Acheulean Baldwin effect Oldowan animal construction genetic transmission social learning

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Findings:

The study delves into the Baldwin effect as a potential mechanism explaining the interplay between genetic predispositions and learned behaviors in early hominin tool manufacture.
It examines how the Baldwin effect could facilitate the incorporation of learned skills into the genetic repertoire over evolutionary time.
Analysis of the extensive lithic artifact dataset provides empirical grounding for exploring these evolutionary hypotheses.

Implications:

This research prompts a re-evaluation of the cognitive and genetic underpinnings of early hominin technological innovation.
Understanding the genetic and cultural interplay in tool use offers new perspectives on hominin evolution and adaptation strategies.
The findings contribute to the broader debate on the evolution of learning, behavior, and cognition in our ancestors.