Evolution And History

Archaic Homo sapiens and the Appearance of Modern-Sized Brains 191

With this new technology, regional stylistic and tech-

nological variants become more marked in the archaeo-

logical record, suggesting the emergence of distinct

cultural traditions and culture areas. At the same time,

the proportions of raw materials procured from faraway

sources increased; whereas sources of stone for Acheulean

tools were rarely more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) away,

Levalloisian tools are found up to 320 kilometers (200

miles) from the sources of their stone.^27

The use of yellow and red pigments of iron oxide,

called ochre, a development first identified in Africa, be-

came especially common by 130,000 years ago.^28 The use

Neandertals. A similar situation exists in East Asia, where
skulls from several sites in China exhibit the same mix of
H. erectus and H. sapiens characteristics.
“Lumpers” suggest that calling some of these early
humans “late H. erectus” or “early H. sapiens” (or any
of the other proposed species names within the genus
Homo) serves no useful purpose and merely obscures
their transitional status. They tend to lump these fossils
into the archaic Homo sapiens, a category that reflects
both their large brain size and the ancestral features on
the skull. “Splitters” use a series of discrete names for
specimens from this period that take into account some
of the geographic and morphologic variation present in
these fossils. Both approaches reflect their respective
statements about evolutionary relationships among fos-
sil groups.

Levalloisian Technique

With the appearance of large-brained members of the
genus Homo, the pace of cultural change accelerated.
A new method of flake manufacture was invented: the
Levalloisian technique, so named after the French
site where such tools were first excavated. Flake tools
produced by this technique have been found widely
in Africa, Europe, southwestern Asia, and even China
along with Acheulean tools. In China, the technique
could represent a case of independent invention, or it
could indicate the spread of ideas from one part of the
inhabited world to another.
The Levalloisian technique initially involves preparing
a core by removing small flakes over the stone’s surface.
Following this, a striking platform is set up by a crosswise
blow at one end of the core of stone (Figure 8.9). Striking
the platform removes three or four long flakes, whose size
and shape have been predetermined by the preceding prep-
aration, leaving behind a nodule that looks like a tortoise
shell. This method produces a longer edge for the same
amount of flint than the previous ones used by evolving
humans. Sharper edges can be produced in less time.

Other Cultural Innovations

At about the same time the Levalloisian technique was
developed, our ancestors invented hafting—the fas-
tening of small stone bifaces and flakes to handles of
wood. Hafting led to the development of knives and
more complex spears. Unlike the older handheld tools
made simply by reduction (flaking of stone or work-
ing of wood), these new composite tools involved three
components: a handle or shaft, a stone insert, and the
materials to bind them. Manufacture involved planned
sequences of actions that could be performed at differ-
ent times and places.

Figure 8.9 These drawings show side (left) and top (right)

views of the steps in the Levalloisian technique. Drawing A

shows the preparatory flaking of the stone core; B, the same on

the top surface; and C, the final step of detaching a flake of a

size and shape predetermined by the preceding steps.

A

B

C

archaic Homo sapiens A loosely defined group within the

genus Homo that “lumpers” use for fossils with the combination

of large brain size and ancestral features on the skull.

Levalloisian technique Tool-making technique by which

three or four long triangular flakes were detached from a spe-

cially prepared core; developed by members of the genus Homo

transitional from H. erectus to H. sapiens.

(^27) Ambrose, p. 1752.
(^28) Barham, L. S. (1998). Possible early pigment use in South-Central Africa.
Current Anthropology 39, 703–710.