ancestral ape foundations that can be inferred from characteristics shared with other extant great apes (Whiten and Erdal 2012). Perhaps the least strongest element of this claim concerns language, although much has been learned in recent years about the natural vocal and gestural communication of wild apes, that offers more optimism in bridging the non-linguistic/linguistic gulf than hitherto (Whiten and Erdal 2012; Slocombe 2012). In the case of culture, a much more substantial analysis of ancestral ape origins is possible, as outlined earlier and described in more detail in Whiten et al. (2009b) and Whiten (2011). In the case of the other main pillars of the socio-cognitive niche shown in Fig. 4.4, elementary forms of mindreading (notably recognition of ‘seeing’, ‘knowing’ and ‘intending’) have been identified over the last decade (Call and Santos 2012; Whiten 2013c); and apes are not egalitarian, yet their complex social alliances undermine simple dominance based on brute force; and various forms of cooperation have been identified in social coalitions as well as hunting and raiding parties (Whiten and Erdal 2012).

anthropology (from the biological and evolutionary to social and cultural), developmental psychology and the cognitive sciences generally. For some of these sources, we have to pinch ourselves to recognize what a special time window we now live in, when it has been possible to directly study other living apes and people still living by hunting and gathering, unearth undreamt-of fossil records of our past and make sense of all this and more, following the evolutionary inspirations of Darwin, Wallace, and many of their most gifted followers. The present volume represents a significant new perspective in such interdisciplinary endeavors. Like the others, this chapter represents just one segment of the larger and grander enterprise of understanding the nature and evolution of culture: and even here, many major developments and discoveries in this rapidly expanding field have had to be only briefly sketched. I have therefore striven to at least provide signposts to exciting entry points to the now vast literature on my topics.

Concluding Remarks

We live at an exciting time in which it has become possible to delineate a very substantial analysis of the evolution of culture, from very ancient times indeed (if we are to include ancestral nodes with the likes of drosophila: Battesti et al. 2012), to the recent and zoologically extraordinary manifestations of cumulative human cultures. In this chapter, I have first introduced a simple hierarchical model (Fig. 4.1) that portrays the evolutionary changes that have taken place in the broadest terms and which is elaborated on further by Haidle and others in this volume (see Davidson 2016; Haidle 2016; Haidle et al. 2016; Tennie et al. 2016). I have then further dissected the nature of culture into three ‘dimensions’ that can be used to compare the cultural phenomena that characterize different contemporary and chrono-species, using this to reconstruct the cultural profile of our ape ancestors (and see Jordan (2015) for further application to human cultural evolution); these dimensions are the spatio-temporal patterning of traditions (particularly rich and varying multi-tradition cultures); cultural contents (including the most elaborated non-human technologies) and social learning processes (a portfolio that includes emulation and imitation). I have ended by outlining the additional and zoologically unique aspects of social cognition that together with cultural evolution itself have marked the later stages of hominin evolution.

Developing such analyses further will require deeply interdisciplinary efforts that include such disparate fields as evolutionary biology, archaeology, ethology, primatology,

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Abstract In-depth study of Acheulean limestone artifacts from Gesher Benot Ya'aqov (0.79 Ma) has revealed that limestone nodules procured from fluvial deposits were transported to the lake margin and exploited throughout the occupational sequence (ca. 50 ka). Analyses of the limestone assemblages illustrate that individual artifacts go through several use-stages or complex life-histories within a single reduction sequence. This reduction sequence began with the targeting of nodules suitable for use as percussors. Use of the percussors sometimes resulted in breakage that produced flakes typical of working accidents. Broken percussors were shaped into a second morphotype, chopping tools, while cores comprise a third morphotype. These morphotypes are viewed as interrelated consecutive options. Once a morphotype was inadequate for use it was transformed into another, resulting in gradual reduction of dimensions from one type to the next. The ability to renovate/recycle implies flexibility and contingency. The consistent homogeneity of the limestone assemblages demonstrates conservatism of knowledge, transmission of the chaîne opératoire, specific raw materials, and flexible variations within them – all typical of a “complex” culture.

Keywords Lower Paleolithic Cognitive abilities Chopping tool Core Core-tool Flake-tool Percussor

N. Alperson-Afil (&)

The Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Bar Ilan University, 5290002 Ramat Gan, Israel e-mail: nira.alperson-afil@biu.ac.il

N. Goren-Inbar

Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91905 Jerusalem, Israel

e-mail: goren@cc.huji.ac.il

Introduction

Located in the Great African Rift system, the 0.79 Ma site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov (GBY) is bedded in the Benot Ya'aqov Formation, deposited by the paleo-Lake Hula during the Early–Middle Pleistocene. The stratigraphic sequence includes lake and lake-margin deposits in which evidence of human activities is provided by a series of 15 archaeological horizons rich in paleontological, paleobotanical, and archaeological assemblages, all assigned to MIS 18 (Goren-Inbar et al. 2000; Feibel 2004; Alperson-Afil 2008; Alperson-Afil et al. 2009; Rabinovich and Biton 2011; Sharon et al. 2011; Spiro et al. 2011; Zohar and Biton 2011). Since the beginning of excavations at GBY (in four major areas of excavation; see Goren-Inbar et al. 2000: Fig. 1), the remains of its Acheulean material culture have been continuously studied, demonstrating affinities with the African Large Flake Acheulean tradition and revealing various technological and behavioral traits of the ancient hominins.

The Acheulean techno-complex emerged in East Africa at ca. 1.76 Ma (Lepre et al. 2011) and persisted until 0.3–0.25 Ma over a wide geographical range (e.g., Kleindienst 1962; Roe 2001; Sharon 2007 and references therein). During the existence of this long cultural complex the earliest human migrations occurred, involving the Levantine Corridor as a migration route out of Africa and into Eurasia. Acheulean assemblages are commonly identified by their characteristic large cutting tools (i.e., handaxes and cleavers), which are the subject of most discussions of the Acheulean lithic repertoire and its implications for hominin technological and cognitive capacities. At the site of GBY, the Acheulean lithic assemblages incorporate three different types of raw material – basalt, flint, and limestone. Since each is characterized by particular qualities of durability, elasticity, and fragmentation, they correspondingly exhibit different technological characteristics and comprise diverse typological products.

In comparison with the other raw materials, limestone artifacts occur throughout the occupational sequence of GBY