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Authors = Miki Ben-Dor
Journal = Quaternary

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20 pages, 3413 KiB  
Article
The Evolution of Paleolithic Hunting Weapons: A Response to Declining Prey Size
by Miki Ben-Dor and Ran Barkai
Quaternary 2023, 6(3), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat6030046 - 24 Aug 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 15532
Abstract
This paper examines the hypothesis that changes in hunting weapons during the Paleolithic were a direct response to a progressive decline in prey size. The study builds upon a unified hypothesis that explains Paleolithic human evolutionary and behavioral/cultural phenomena, including improved cognitive capabilities, [...] Read more.
This paper examines the hypothesis that changes in hunting weapons during the Paleolithic were a direct response to a progressive decline in prey size. The study builds upon a unified hypothesis that explains Paleolithic human evolutionary and behavioral/cultural phenomena, including improved cognitive capabilities, as adaptations to mitigate declined energetic returns due to a decline in prey size. Five selected case studies in Africa and Europe were analyzed to test this hypothesis, focusing on the relative presence of megaherbivores (>1000 kg) in the transition between the Acheulean/Early Stone Age and the Middle Paleolithic/Middle Stone Age. The findings indicate a decline in megaherbivores’ presence and biomass contribution in the studied transition period associated with the introduction of Levallois technology. We review the evolution of hunting weapons, including wooden-tipped and stone-tipped spears and bows and arrows. Analysis of tip size and breakage patterns indicate a reduction in point size over time, aligning with the declining prey size. We propose that changes in hunting weapons and strategies were driven by the practical and ontological incentives presented by the availability and size of prey. Developing smaller, more precise weapons required increased cognitive capacities, leading to the parallel evolution of human cognitive abilities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interdisciplinary Research into Cultural and Biological Transformations in the Paleolithic Period)
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21 pages, 3448 KiB  
Article
Prey Size Decline as a Unifying Ecological Selecting Agent in Pleistocene Human Evolution
by Miki Ben-Dor and Ran Barkai
Quaternary 2021, 4(1), 7; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat4010007 - 19 Feb 2021
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 34084
Abstract
We hypothesize that megafauna extinctions throughout the Pleistocene, that led to a progressive decline in large prey availability, were a primary selecting agent in key evolutionary and cultural changes in human prehistory. The Pleistocene human past is characterized by a series of transformations [...] Read more.
We hypothesize that megafauna extinctions throughout the Pleistocene, that led to a progressive decline in large prey availability, were a primary selecting agent in key evolutionary and cultural changes in human prehistory. The Pleistocene human past is characterized by a series of transformations that include the evolution of new physiological traits and the adoption, assimilation, and replacement of cultural and behavioral patterns. Some changes, such as brain expansion, use of fire, developments in stone-tool technologies, or the scale of resource intensification, were uncharacteristically progressive. We previously hypothesized that humans specialized in acquiring large prey because of their higher foraging efficiency, high biomass density, higher fat content, and the use of less complex tools for their acquisition. Here, we argue that the need to mitigate the additional energetic cost of acquiring progressively smaller prey may have been an ecological selecting agent in fundamental adaptive modes demonstrated in the Paleolithic archaeological record. We describe several potential associations between prey size decline and specific evolutionary and cultural changes that might have been driven by the need to adapt to increased energetic demands while hunting and processing smaller and smaller game. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Quaternary Studies: The Contribution of Mammalian Fossil Record II)
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