Eurasians more advanced? “discovery shows that old tools were being used 11,000 years ago in West Africa which is almost 20,000 years later” than other regions — News 18

EurasiansAs the headline at Ancient-Origins succinctly suggests,

Human Evolutionary Theory Needs Updating, Again

We now have solid archaeological evidence that some populations in Africa evolved much slower than other tribes across the Continent and in Eurasia.

[A] new paper suggests some ancient people living in Africa 11,000 years ago were still using simple tools, while other groups had developed more advanced technologies 20,000 years previously. This directly challenges the traditional theory that humans evolved in a linear fashion, making technological advances together, and proves humans evolved at greatly different rates around Africa, and the world.

A number of flaked stones were discovered and more recently dated in Sengal.  The process of this archaic tool making is known as hafting.

More from News 18, India, Jan. 15:

This new finding made by the Max Planck Institute indicates that humanity may have evolved at different speeds around the world.

The archaeological discoveries were found in Senegal on the West coast of Africa. It supports the idea that during the prehistoric times, most groups of humans were isolated from each other.

The lead author of the Study is Dr. Eleanor Scerri.  From the Max Planck Institute, mpg.de:

EleanorScerri » Eurasians more advanced in tool making, W. Africans stuck in the Stone Age says new study » Human Evolution News » 1Archaeologist Eleanor Scerri and her team are studying human evolution and demography in Africa and South-West Asia. She combines field projects with various approaches from archaeology, genetics, biogeography and climate sciences. One particular focus of her work is West Africa, one of the least understood regions of the continent with regard to human evolution.

As the press release from the Max Planck Inst. suggests, it was long believed that human populations, even in Africa, had abandoned rudimentary, Homo habilis-like tool making, some 30,000 years ago.

ScienceDaily.com explains, Jan. 14:

This repertoire of stone flaking methods and the resulting tools includes distinctive ways of producing sharp flakes by carefully preparing nodules of rock, some of which were sometimes further shaped into tool forms known as ‘scrapers’ and ‘points.’ Middle Stone Age finds most commonly occur in the African record between around 300 thousand and 30 thousand years ago, after which point they largely vanish.

But thanks to Dr. Scerri and her team we now know primitive tool making did not vanish in West Africa.  As to why these Africans had a retarded development, Scerri suggests lethargy.

“habitat stability may simply have resulted in little need for radical changes in subsistence, as reflected in the successful use of these traditional toolkits.”

West Africa a “wellspring for our species’ genetic diversity”

Scerri and her co-authors including Dr. Khady Niang, and the well-known paleontologist Hugh Gowcett, suggest in their paper, published by Nature.com, that these Africans may not have had the sufficient brain development.

the transition [to advanced stone tool making] was so dramatic as to suggest it was caused by a cognitive mutation that marks the appearance of truly ‘modern humans.

Finally, they hint at a genetic component.

genetic analyses highlight West Africa as a key wellspring of our species’ genetic diversity, with some studies even suggesting contributions from past African archaic populations…

Were isolated populations of West Africa directly descended from archaic Hominins?

See our article here at Subspecieist “Shock from Cameroon burial site: Rare Haplo-type Afros may be descended from another Hominid species”.  Also, YouTube video on “Stone Age Tools and Weapons” by EP5Valterna.  Finally, our interview with Neanderthal Joe on Levallois tool making technology from Dec. 2019.

 

 

Eric

Author Eric

FSU grad, US Navy Veteran. Houston, Texas

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Join the discussion 11 Comments

  • Valerivs Antoninvs Pretorivs Gælicvs says:

    Love your work, and from your colleagues as well. Great web site.

    • Phil78 says:

      Hope you don’t mind criticism.

      The article you linked clearly said that the technique identified was associated with Sapiens, not Habilis or archaic populations.

      The timeline of 300k to 30k should’ve been a giveaway.

      Second, the next paragraph of the quote on the genetic component directly challenges the quoted statement, arguing against an abrupt development.

      For context, the Levallois technology that you associate with Neanderthals is 1-0.5 mya years old across Southern and Eastern Africa. Look up Victoria West scores or the Kathupan artifacts in South Africa.

      If this is how you use studies, I am not surprised Scerri blocked you.

      • Eric says:

        Scerri is a fuckin’ leftist. While researching this piece, I discovered her extreme political bias. She has an agenda.

        How I research my articles? Too bad for them. I just take their own words, their own evidence and apply a right-wing viewpoint to their findings. It upsets them. I understand that. As it has obviously made you upset.

        I will say though, your point about Levallois technology is a good one. I was not aware of the Kathupan artifacts in South Africa and will look into it. Thank you for that.

        Oh, and next time, try a real name instead of “Phil178.” Would lend a great more credibility to your comments. Thanks!

      • Eric says:

        Okay, I re-read the piece. I understand where you might be confused. The Archaic humans in West Africa are the AOO Haplo type – Albert Perry. There are 11 villages in western Cameroon who were swabbed. They came out as AOO Haplo type which has long been considered extinct. It matched Albert Perry, deceased in 2003, of South Carolina.

        The anthropologists don’t want to touch AOO with a ten foot pole, because to have archaic Hominids still in existence in 2021 is hugely embarrassing for them. Let alone archaics who are in Africa.

        I see now why you’re so upset. My article is solid proof that some Africans are still in the stone age, while Europeans have advanced. That doesn’t fit the goddamned leftist “Kumbaya” la la la la We are the World narrative. Well, yeah, tough shit.

        • Phil78 says:

          1. The Artical dealt with evidence in a small, likely prehistorically isolated, place in Senegal, not Cameroon.

          2. Cameroon and Central Africa in General was mentioned to have the tools before the Holocene.

          3. A00 is a Haplotype more common in Pygmies rather than the Bangwa a contrary to Alan, doesn’t allow you to infer somatic phenotype.

          Only Autosomal, not sex chromosomes, determine that.

          • Phil78 says:

            More on A00.

            1. I am familiar with Alan on Twitter where you get your info.

            He has no actual data on the Bangwa, only scattered pictures that doesn’t allow you to actually compare their phenotypes together groups.

            2. I am also Familiar with the Shim Laka find, which lacked a large amount of archaic autosomal Ancestry but did have A00. Again, these were closer related to Pygmies rather than West African Farmers.

            3. Basal Genetics was mentioned in the article, so why would A00, which gets little of press, be stigmatized?

          • Phil78 says:

            * Alot of Presd

        • Phil78 says:

          More on the tools.

          1. They specifically site Shum Laka, the other site in your article being the epicenter of ancient A00 samples. As having LSA tools well before Senegal.

          2. By 11k, most of Eurasia outside of the Middle east and China starting farming, was in the Stone Age.

          3. From 9000 to 3000 BC West Africa develops Pottery and independent Agriculture.

        • Phil78 says:

          “She has an Agenda”.

          No, given how you gave selective quotes that Irebutted using the actual source, and how you clearly didn’t read about Shuma Laka havingbthe LSA well before 11k, you were the one with an agenda.

          So rebutted the facts of the paper rather than attacking her politics.

  • Phil78 says:

    Also, the Later Stone Age, the advanced tool technique, was also developed in Africa between 100k-70k.

    Saying Eurasians were superior would be in accurate.

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