(Phys.org) —Artifacts from the Middle Stone Age, which lasted from about 200,000 to 50,000 years ago, provide us with the earliest glimpses of modern human art and culture. Previously, scientists thought an increase in population drove the behavioral innovations that led to the creation of these artifacts and eventually, the expansion out of Africa. However, by examining mollusk shells from Stone Age sites, Richard Klein of Stanford University and Teresa Steele of University of California, Davis, have determined that a significant population increase did not occur until the Late Stone Age, after the migration out of Africa had already begun. Their research appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
↧