Measuring the Complexity of Lithic Technology

Perreault, Charles; Brantingham, P. Jeffrey; Kuhn, Steven L.; Wurz, Sarah; Gao, Xing Guo

doi:10.1086/673264

Cited by 94 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The number of levels involved is called the "planning depth" of the technology. Similar hierarchical analyses have been proposed by Haidle (2009Haidle ( , 2010 and Perrault et al (2013;see also Greenfield 1991, which Moore 2010 builds on). An increased planning depth demands more developed working memory and executive functions.…”

Section: Communicating Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 61%

The Archaeology of Teaching and the Evolution ofHomo docens

Gärdenfors¹,

Högberg²

2017

Current Anthropology

138

110

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Teaching is present in all human societies, while within other species it is very limited. Something happened during the evolution of Homo sapiens that also made us Homo docens-the teaching animal. Based on discussions of animal and hominin learning, we analyze the evolution of intentional teaching by a series of levels that require increasing capacities of mind reading and communication on the part of the teacher and the learner. The levels of teaching are (1) intentional evaluative feedback, (2) drawing attention, (3) demonstrating, (4) communicating concepts, and (5) explaining relations between concepts. We suggest that level after level has been added during the evolution of teaching. We demonstrate how different technologies depend on increasing sophistication in the levels of cognition and communication required for teaching them. As regards the archaeological evidence for the different levels, we argue that stable transmission of the Oldowan technology requires at least teaching by demonstration and that learning the late Acheulean hand-axe technology requires at least communicating concepts. We conclude that H. docens preceded H. sapiens.

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Section: Communicating Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 61%

The Archaeology of Teaching and the Evolution ofHomo docens

Gärdenfors¹,

Högberg²

2017

Current Anthropology

138

110

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“…For more than 60 years, the serial ordering of behaviour has been a core topic for the cognitive and behavioral sciences 1,2 . Enhanced capacities for complex action sequencing support distinctive human behaviors such as language 3 , imitation 4 and tool-use 5,6 , and are fundamental to the flexibility that is a hallmark of human intelligence 7,8 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grammars of action in human behavior and evolution

Stout

Chaminade

Thomik

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Distinctive human behaviors from tool-making to language are thought to rely on a uniquely evolved capacity for hierarchical action sequencing. Unfortunately, testing of this idea has been hampered by a lack of objective, generalizable methods for measuring the structural complexity of real-world behaviors. Here we present a data-driven approach for quantifying hierarchical structure by extracting action grammars from basic ethograms. We apply this method to the evolutionarily-relevant behavior of stone tool-making by comparing sequences from the experimental replication of ~2.5 Mya Oldowan vs. more recent ~0.5 Mya Achuelean tools. Results show that, while using the same "alphabet" of elementary actions, Acheulean sequences are structurally more complex. Beyond its specific evolutionary implications, this finding illustrates the broader applicability of our method to investigate the structure of naturalistic human behaviors and cognition. We demonstrate one application by using our complexity measures to re-analyze data from an fMRI study of tool-making action observation.

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“…For example, Perreault et al (2013) made a significant advancement in our understanding of technological complexity by counting the number of 'procedural units' involved in knapping, a remodelling of Oswalt's (1976) 'technounits'. However, Perreault et al (2013) only tally technological complexity, whereas the present study ranks these steps hierarchically and examines when and how often steps are repeated.…”

Section: Hierarchical Diagramsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, the number of sub-foci in each diagram can be counted, an approach similar to that employed by Perreault et al (2013). However, their quantification ignores the hierarchical structure of the sub-foci.…”

Section: Quantitative Comparisonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Table 6.1 shows a summary of all the hierarchical diagrams constructed in this study and These continuities and differences can be explored further via the quantitative measures of behavioural complexity. The simplest comparison of the complexity of these hierarchical diagrams is the number of sub-foci involved, and is a similar method to that adopted by Perreault et al (2013). Table 6.1 shows that…”

Section: Hierarchicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The role of experimental knapping in empirically testing key themes in the evolution of lithic technology: reduction intensity, efficiency and behavioural complexity

Muller¹

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Experimental knapping has complimented and stimulated lithic analyses for over a century.Throughout this period, the discipline has witnessed an increase in the scientific rigour and theoretical grounding with which these studies are conducted. This thesis charts these key trends and in doing so establishes a best-practice model of experimental knapping, the veracity of which is in turn tested using four new lithic experiments. These case-studies employ experimental knapping to advance our understanding of flake platform measurement, reduction intensity, technological efficiency, and behavioural complexity.The first case-study, Chapter 3, offers a more accurate and precise calliper-based method of flake platform measurement that relies on simple geometric approximations of platform shape rather than the inflexible and unreliable existing method of multiplying platform width by thickness. In Chapter 4, a new reduction intensity metric for backed blades, a hitherto overlooked tool-type, is developed and tested on the backed blades from an early Neolithic site in Turkey. This new metric allows a reconstruction of the raw material consumption patterns at the site, finding that the backed blades These four case-studies, coupled with a consideration of existing knapping experiments, allow an understanding of how experimental knapping is embedded in the broader archaeological research process, and ultimately tests the efficacy of a best-practice model of experimental knapping. This model identifies the initial scope, methodological control, and breadth of interpretations as the key variables dictating the validity of an experiment. While knapping experiments may differ markedly in their scope and control, they do not necessarily vary in their validity. Instead, it is the interplay of these variables that dictates the validity of experimentation. Within this best-practice model, lithic experiments are most robust when the scale of the initial scope, methodological control and ensuing interpretations are congruent, and when they involve explicit and falsifiable hypothesis testing.iii

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Measuring the Complexity of Lithic Technology

Cited by 94 publications

References 48 publications

The Archaeology of Teaching and the Evolution ofHomo docens

The Archaeology of Teaching and the Evolution ofHomo docens

Grammars of action in human behavior and evolution

The role of experimental knapping in empirically testing key themes in the evolution of lithic technology: reduction intensity, efficiency and behavioural complexity

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