The Middle Stone Age in Africa The Olorgesailie basin in the southern Kenya rift valley contains sediments dating back to 1.2 million years ago, preserving a long archaeological record of human activity and environmental conditions. Three papers present the oldest East African evidence of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and elucidate the system of technology and behavior associated with the origin of Homo sapiens. Potts et al. present evidence for the demise of Acheulean technology that preceded the MSA and describe variations in late Acheulean hominin behavior that anticipate MSA characteristics. The transition to the MSA was accompanied by turnover of large mammals and large-scale landscape change. Brooks et al. establish that ∼320,000 to 305,000 years ago, the populations in eastern Africa underwent a technological shift upon procurement of distantly sourced obsidian for toolmaking, indicating the early development of social exchange. Deino et al. provide the chronological underpinning for these discoveries. Science, this issue p. 86, p. 90, p. 95 Social, technological, and subsistence behaviors and pigment use emerged during human evolution more than 300,000 years ago. Previous research suggests that the complex symbolic, technological, and socioeconomic behaviors that typify Homo sapiens had roots in the middle Pleistocene <200,000 years ago, but data bearing on human behavioral origins are limited. We present a series of excavated Middle Stone Age sites from the Olorgesailie basin, southern Kenya, dating from ≥295,000 to ~320,000 years ago by argon-40/argon-39 and uranium-series methods. Hominins at these sites made prepared cores and points, exploited iron-rich rocks to obtain red pigment, and procured stone tool materials from ≥25- to 50-kilometer distances. Associated fauna suggests a broad resource strategy that included large and small prey. These practices imply notable changes in how individuals and groups related to the landscape and to one another and provide documentation relevant to human social and cognitive evolution.

中文翻译：

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中石器时代最早的远距离石材运输和颜料使用

非洲的中石器时代 肯尼亚南部裂谷的奥洛格赛利盆地包含可追溯到 120 万年前的沉积物，保留了人类活动和环境条件的长期考古记录。三篇论文展示了中石器时代 (MSA) 最古老的东非证据，并阐明了与智人起源相关的技术和行为系统。波茨等人。提出了 MSA 之前的 Acheulean 技术消亡的证据，并描述了预期 MSA 特征的晚期 Acheulean 人类行为的变化。向 MSA 的过渡伴随着大型哺乳动物的更替和大规模的景观变化。布鲁克斯等人。确定大约 320,000 到 305,000 年前，东部非洲的人口在采购远距离来源的黑曜石用于工具制造后经历了技术转变，这表明社会交流的早期发展。迪诺等人。为这些发现提供按时间顺序排列的基础。科学，这个问题 p。86 页。90，第。95 300,000 多年前的人类进化过程中出现了社会、技术和生存行为以及色素使用。先前的研究表明，代表智人的复杂的象征、技术和社会经济行为起源于更新世中期 <20 万年前，但有关人类行为起源的数据有限。我们展示了一系列来自肯尼亚南部 Olorgesailie 盆地的中石器时代遗址，通过氩 40/氩 39 和铀系列方法可以追溯到≥295,000 到 ~320,000 年前。这些地点的古人类制作了准备好的岩心和点，利用富含铁的岩石获取红色颜料，并从≥25 至 50 公里的距离采购石器材料。相关动物群建议采用广泛的资源策略，包括大小猎物。这些实践意味着个人和群体如何与景观和彼此相关的显着变化，并提供与人类社会和认知进化相关的文件。