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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

The Innovation Arena: A Method for Comparing Innovative Problem-Solving Across Groups
Published on: May 13, 2022
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it": Conservation vs. innovation in homo tool industries
1Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA mscalise@uoregon.edu https://blogs.uoregon.edu/humananimallab/.
Abstract:
If childhood was critical to cultural adaptation, we would expect to see regular innovation in Homo tool industries. However, the Acheulean, Mousterian, and early H. sapiens industries are remarkably stable. Evidence of prolific innovation is largely absent before the European Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition, which is associated with increased longevity in H. sapiens, suggesting that innovation was sparked by grandparenthood.
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