Background Until recently, the evolution of the genus Homo has been interpreted in the
context of the onset of African aridity and the expansion of open grasslands. Homo erectus …

The life history of Homo sapiens is characterized by a lengthy period of juvenile
dependence that requires extensive allocare, short interbirth intervals with concomitantly …

In Africa, the scarcity of hominin remains found in direct association with stone tools has
hindered attempts to link Homo habilis and Homo erectus with particular lithic industries …

The manufacture of flaked stone artifacts represents a major milestone in the technology of
the human lineage. Although the earliest production of primitive stone tools, predating the …

Paleolithic archaeologists conceptualize the uniqueness of Homo sapiens in terms of
“behavioral modernity,” a quality often conflated with behavioral variability. The former is …

The emergence of lithic technology by∼ 2.6 million years ago (Ma) is often interpreted as a
correlate of increasingly recurrent hominin acquisition and consumption of animal remains …

Aridification is often considered a major driver of long-term ecological change and hominin
evolution in eastern Africa during the Plio-Pleistocene; however, this hypothesis remains …

Evidence of Oldowan tools by∼ 2.6 million years ago (Ma) may signal a major adaptive shift
in hominin evolution. While tool-dependent butchery of large mammals was important by at …

This paper focuses on the empirical evidence for the cognitive abilities of early hominins of
the Oldowan Industrial Complex (c.≥ 2.6 to 1.4 Mya) on the African continent. It profiles …

Inter-site technological variation in the archaeological record is one of the richest potential
sources of information about Plio-Pleistocene hominid behavior and evolution. However …