Less of a bird's song than a hard rock ensemble

Abstract

Corbey et al. (2016) propose that the Acheulean handaxe was, at least in part, under genetic control. An alternative perspective is offered here, focusing on the nature of the Acheulean handaxe and the archaeological record, and re-emphasizing their status as cultural artefacts. This is based on four main arguments challenging the proposals of Corbey et al. Firstly, handaxes do not have to track environmental variation to be a cultural artefact, given their role as a hand-held butchery knife or multi-purpose tool. Secondly, while handaxe shapes do cluster around a basic bauplan, there is also significant variability in the Acheulean handaxe record, characterized by site-specific modal forms and locally expressed, short-lived, idiosyncratic traits. Critically, this variability occurs in both time and space, is multi-scalar, and does not appear to be under genetic control. Thirdly, handaxes were produced in social contexts, within which their makers grew up exposed to the sights and sounds of artefact manufacture. Finally, the localized absences of handaxes at different times and places in the Lower Paleolithic world is suggestive of active behavioral choices and population dynamics rather than genetic controls.

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