Likeness-making and the evolution of cognition

Paleontological evidence suggests that human artefacts with intentional markings might have originated already in the Lower Paleolithic, up to 500.000 years ago and well before the advent of ‘behavioural modernity’. These markings apparently did not serve instrumental, tool-like functions, nor do they appear to be forms of figurative art. Instead, they display abstract geometric patterns that potentially testify to an emerging ability of symbol use. In a variation on Ian Hacking’s speculative account of the possible role of “likeness-making” in the evolution of human cognition and language, this essay explores the central role that the embodied processes of making and the collective practices of using such artefacts might have played in early human cognitive evolution. Two paradigmatic findings of Lower Paleolithic artefacts are discussed as tentative evidence of likenesses acting as material scaffolds in the emergence of symbolic reference-making. They might provide the link between basic abilities of mimesis and imitation and the development of modern language and thought.

Quand la pétroarchéologie questionne la notion de site : états de surface et taphonomie des objets lithiques de La Belle-Roche (Sprimont, Prov. de Liège, Belgique)

Petro-archaeological analysis of the lithic industry of the Lower Paleolithic of La Belle-Roche cave (Sprimont, Belgium), according to the grids developed in recent years by various research programs in France, allows a new reading of this industry. Although the anthropic character of certain objects seems well-estabilished, their accumulation in the deposit remains problematic. In this respect, the taphonomic and weathering analysis of the industry raises questions about the origin of the deposit, the age of the industry and the notion of “site”: is the “La Belle-Roche site” as a prehistorian or prehistoric construction?

Flint Recycling in the Lower Paleolithic Levant: A Microscopic Investigation of Small Recycled Flakes at Qesem Cave (Israel)

Recycling is defined as a process in which waste materials can again become usable. In the common belief of many peoples, recycling is only considered a contemporary manifestation linked to the economic and ecological politics of industrialized societies. Both archaeological and historical records, however, prove that recycling has its roots back in time, being a common behavior of our ancestors as well as of many past societies. At the Late Lower Paleolithic site of Qesem Cave, Israel, research has identified a particular lithic trajectory oriented towards the production of small flakes by means of recycling, in the exploiting of old discarded flakes to be re-used as cores. The high density of this specific production throughout the stratigraphic sequence of the cave demonstrates that lithic recycling was a conscious and planned technological choice aimed at providing small and sharp items, most probably in order to meet specific functional behaviors. This particular lithic behavior persisted for some 200 kyr of human use of the cave and is not related to any shortage of flint, as the vicinity of the cave is exceptionally rich in flint sources. The exceptional conservation of use-wear signs and residues has allowed the author to reconstruct the functional role of this specific production, highlighting its specialized nature mostly related to the processing of animal carcasses through accurate and careful actions. The aptitude towards specialization in a tool’s function and technology shows how advanced the cognitive capacities were of the Qesem hominins. Applying functional analysis based on the determination of wear on artifacts by means of optical light microscopes, scanning electron microscopy and chemical analysis (FTIR and EDX) provides a useful and effective approach for understanding the adaptive strategies of the Qesem Cave hominins who, while facing various situations, were able to find thoughtful solutions for different needs.

The Elephant in the Handaxe: Lower Palaeolithic Ontologies and Representations

Indigenous hunter-gatherers view the world differently than do WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic) societies. They depend—as in prehistoric times—on intimate relationships with elements such as animals, plants and stones for their successful adaptation and prosperity. The desire to maintain the perceived world-order and ensure the continued availability of whatever is necessary for human existence and well-being thus compelled equal efforts to please these other-than-human counterparts. Relationships of consumption and appreciation characterized human nature as early as the Lower Palaeolithic; the archaeological record reflects such ontological and cosmological conceptions to some extent. Central to my argument are elephants and handaxes, the two pre-eminent Lower Palaeolithic hallmarks of the Old World. I argue that proboscideans had a dual dietary and cosmological significance for early humans during Lower Paleolithic times. The persistent production and use of the ultimate megaherbivore processing tool, the handaxe, coupled with the conspicuous presence of handaxes made of elephant bones, serve as silent testimony for the elephant–handaxe ontological nexus. I will suggest that material culture is a product of people's relationships with the world. Early humans thus tailored their tool kits to the consumption and appreciation of specific animal taxa: in our case, the elephant in the handaxe.