Development of Middle Stone Age innovation linked to rapid climate change
نویسندگان
چکیده
The development of modernity in early human populations has been linked to pulsed phases of technological and behavioural innovation within the Middle Stone Age of South Africa. However, the trigger for these intermittent pulses of technological innovation is an enigma. Here we show that, contrary to some previous studies, the occurrence of innovation was tightly linked to abrupt climate change. Major innovational pulses occurred at times when South African climate changed rapidly towards more humid conditions, while northern sub-Saharan Africa experienced widespread droughts, as the Northern Hemisphere entered phases of extreme cooling. These millennial-scale teleconnections resulted from the bipolar seesaw behaviour of the Atlantic Ocean related to changes in the ocean circulation. These conditions led to humid pulses in South Africa and potentially to the creation of favourable environmental conditions. This strongly implies that innovational pulses of early modern human behaviour were climatically influenced and linked to the adoption of refugia.
منابع مشابه
Climate, Environment and Early Human Innovation: Stable Isotope and Faunal Proxy Evidence from Archaeological Sites (98-59ka) in the Southern Cape, South Africa
The Middle Stone Age (MSA) of southern Africa, and in particular its Still Bay and Howiesons Poort lithic traditions, represents a period of dramatic subsistence, cultural, and technological innovation by our species, Homo sapiens. Climate change has frequently been postulated as a primary driver of the appearance of these innovative behaviours, with researchers invoking either climate instabil...
متن کاملAnalysis of temperature changes in East Azerbaijan province with a climate change approach Using the SDSM model
Temperature change in the future, which is very important in terms of agriculture, development and health, can be one of the consequences of climate change and global warming. Knowing how it can be a significant help to the agricultural sector and development issues and managerschr(chr(chr(chr('39')39chr('39'))39chr(chr('39')39chr('39')))39chr(chr(chr('39')39chr('39'))39chr(chr('39')39chr('39')...
متن کاملHominin Dispersal into the Nefud Desert and Middle Palaeolithic Settlement along the Jubbah Palaeolake, Northern Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula is a key region for understanding hominin dispersals and the effect of climate change on prehistoric demography, although little information on these topics is presently available owing to the poor preservation of archaeological sites in this desert environment. Here, we describe the discovery of three stratified and buried archaeological sites in the Nefud Desert, which i...
متن کاملRapid systematic assessment of the detection and attribution of regional anthropogenic climate change
متن کامل
Cost Containment for Climate Policy Requires Linked Technology Policies
Safety valves, discretionary advisory boards, and other cost containment mechanisms enhance the political feasibility of stringent climate policy by limiting firms’ and households’ exposures to higher than anticipated costs associated with reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, cost containment comes at a price; it increases the risk of climate-related damages and it also discourages inves...
متن کامل