Nicholas Toth

Archaeological evidence for preferential right-handedness in the lower and middle pleistocene, and its possible implications

Analysis of prehistoric stone artifacts from Lower Pleistocene sites at Koobi Fora, Kenya, and Middle Pleistocene horizons at Ambrona, Spain reveals a preferential, clockwise rotation of stone cores during flaking. Experimental studies of early stone artifact manufacture show that this non-random pattern is consistent with that produced by right-handed toolmakers. This suggests that there was a genetic basis for right-handedness by 1·4 to 1·9 million years ago, and that there may have already been a profound lateralization in the hominid brain with the two hemispheres becoming more specialized for different functions.

The oldowan reassessed: A close look at early stone artifacts

Early Stone Age assemblages called “Oldowan” and early “Developed Oldowan” are discussed, based on the results of a long-term study of Plio-Pleistocene sites at Koobi Fora, Kenya and an extensive experimental research program of replicating and using early stone artifact forms. Five major conclusions are drawn from this investigation: (1) many Oldowan core forms (“core-tools”) are probably simple by-products of flake manufacture rather than representations of stylistic norms; (2) flakes and retouched flakes - were essential tools in Oldowan technology, particularly for activities involving cutting; (3) this simple technology does not necessarily reflect the cognitive abilities of the early hominids that manufactured the stone artifacts; (4) there is evidence to show that Oldowan technology can be viewed as a simple curated one, in which raw material was intentionally carried from place to place for future use; (5) early hominid populations that made and used stone implements were not necessarily dependent upon them for their survival.

Neural correlates of Early Stone Age toolmaking: technology, language and cognition in human evolution

Archaeological and palaeontological evidence from the Early Stone Age (ESA) documents parallel trends of brain expansion and technological elaboration in human evolution over a period of more than 2 Myr. However, the relationship between these defining trends remains controversial and poorly understood. Here, we present results from a positron emission tomography study of functional brain activation during experimental ESA (Oldowan and Acheulean) toolmaking by expert subjects. Together with a previous study of Oldowan toolmaking by novices, these results document increased demands for effective visuomotor coordination and hierarchical action organization in more advanced toolmaking. This includes an increased activation of ventral premotor and inferior parietal elements of the parietofrontal praxis circuits in both the hemispheres and of the right hemisphere homologue of Brocas area. The observed patterns of activation and of overlap with language circuits suggest that toolmaking and language share a basis in more general human capacities for complex, goal-directed action. The results are consistent with coevolutionary hypotheses linking the emergence of language, toolmaking, population-level functional lateralization and association cortex expansion in human evolution.

FxJj50: An early Pleistocene site in northern Kenya

Abstract Excavation in the Upper Member of the Koobi Fora Formation in Kenya has revealed a cluster of stone artefacts and broken up bones which accumulated 1–5 million years ago on the banks of a water course. The assemblage had been preserved by layers of silt. The stone artefacts consist of flakes and flake fragments plus simple flaked cobbles. It has been possible to conjoin individual pieces linking about 10 per cent of the artefacts and 4 per cent of the identifiable bones in pairs or sets. In some cases it seems likely that the specimens were fractured on the spot. Some of the fracture patterns on the bones suggest breakage with hammers, and apparent cut marks have also been found on some bones. There are signs of the presence of scavenging carnivores as well as of tool‐making hominids, and both could have contributed to the workings of a complex input‐output system. Whether the site was a home‐base camp or simply a locality used for meat‐eating and tool‐making remains uncertain. Experimental work ...

1 – The First Million Years: The Archaeology of Protohuman Culture

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews methodological and theoretical advances in the field of the archaeology of prohuman culture in the first million years. The ultimate goal of the study of protohuman archaeology is to document what happened over time and space and to explain why it happened. Since 1975, studies of the early archaeological record have gone far beyond the mere excavation of sites and the description and quantification of their lithic and faunal assemblages. In re-exploring many of the issues at hand in studies of early archeology, such as evidence for hominid diet, the nature and origin of artifact and bone accumulations, the nature of early stone technologies, and the use of resources available on the landscape, a wide-ranging search for applicable comparative models has intensified. The number of “prime” early Paleolithic sites, well excavated and well documented, with the association of fresh stone artifacts and well-preserved bone in low-energy sedimentary situations is not extensive. More emphasis should be placed on archaeological reconnaissance and survey to find new localities with such evidence. It has been predicted that future research will place more emphasis on ecological models of protohuman adaptation, with hominid diet as a major area of investigation.

Stone tool origins

The human lineage is unique in the animal world for having an adaptation that is based upon the comp…