The Evolution of Paleolithic Hunting Weapons: A Response to Declining Prey Size

IF 2.3 Q2 GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Quaternary Pub Date : 2023-08-24 DOI:10.3390/quat6030046
M. Ben-Dor, R. Barkai
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Abstract

This paper examines the hypothesis that changes in hunting weapons during the Paleolithic were a direct response to a progressive decline in prey size. The study builds upon a unified hypothesis that explains Paleolithic human evolutionary and behavioral/cultural phenomena, including improved cognitive capabilities, as adaptations to mitigate declined energetic returns due to a decline in prey size. Five selected case studies in Africa and Europe were analyzed to test this hypothesis, focusing on the relative presence of megaherbivores (>1000 kg) in the transition between the Acheulean/Early Stone Age and the Middle Paleolithic/Middle Stone Age. The findings indicate a decline in megaherbivores’ presence and biomass contribution in the studied transition period associated with the introduction of Levallois technology. We review the evolution of hunting weapons, including wooden-tipped and stone-tipped spears and bows and arrows. Analysis of tip size and breakage patterns indicate a reduction in point size over time, aligning with the declining prey size. We propose that changes in hunting weapons and strategies were driven by the practical and ontological incentives presented by the availability and size of prey. Developing smaller, more precise weapons required increased cognitive capacities, leading to the parallel evolution of human cognitive abilities.
旧石器时代狩猎武器的演变:对猎物数量下降的回应
这篇论文检验了旧石器时代狩猎武器的变化是对猎物体积逐渐变小的直接反应的假设。这项研究建立在一个统一的假设之上,该假设解释了旧石器时代人类的进化和行为/文化现象,包括认知能力的提高,作为一种适应,以减轻因猎物体积缩小而导致的能量回报下降。为了验证这一假设,研究人员分析了非洲和欧洲的5个选定的案例研究,重点研究了在阿舍利/早期石器时代和旧石器时代中期/中石器时代过渡时期巨型食草动物(100 - 1000公斤)的相对存在。研究结果表明,在研究的过渡时期,大型食草动物的存在和生物量贡献与Levallois技术的引入有关。我们回顾了狩猎武器的演变,包括木矛和石矛以及弓箭。对尖端大小和断裂模式的分析表明,随着时间的推移,尖端的大小会减少,这与猎物体积的缩小相一致。我们认为狩猎武器和策略的变化是由猎物的可用性和大小所提供的实际和本体论激励驱动的。开发更小、更精确的武器需要增强认知能力,从而导致人类认知能力的平行进化。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Quaternary
Quaternary GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY-
CiteScore
3.30
自引率
4.30%
发文量
44
审稿时长
11 weeks
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