The co-evolution of hominins and Stone Age culture

Abstract

Human biological and cultural evolution are tightly intertwined; the two display dependent relationships and each influences the trajectory of the other. Archaeological evidence for hominin culture first emerges ca 3.3 million years ago, but increasing data attests to an earlier, deeply rooted onset of gene-culture co-evolution in our lineage. Diverse phenotypic traits are linked to Stone Age culture via the latter's impact on the survival and success of early human populations. Hominin cognitive and language capabilities, along with the anatomy of the hand, are key examples. Similarly, variation in Stone Age culture can be linked to the biological traits of the populations from which it derives; important examples concern stone technologies, hunting strategies and social organization. The co-evolution of hominins and Stone Age culture is, therefore, complex, multi-factorial and one of the major stories in human origins research. Here, current understanding of hominin cultural and biological co-evolution prior to the advent of agriculture is reviewed, and new links between the fossil and archaeological records are drawn.