Behavioral modernity facts for kids
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Behavioral modernity describes the special ways humans think and act today. It's what makes us different from early humans, Neanderthals, and other primates. Experts believe modern human behavior includes things like abstract thinking (thinking about ideas, not just objects), making plans, using symbols (like art or jewelry), creating music and dance, hunting large animals, and making advanced tools.
These behaviors come from how humans think and learn. We learn from each other and build on what others have done. This is called "cumulative cultural adaptation." We also have social rules, language, and we help and work together, even with people who aren't close family.
Scientists think that these modern behaviors, along with changes in the climate long ago, helped Homo sapiens (that's us!) succeed and spread across the world. This happened while other early human groups like Neanderthals and Denisovans eventually died out.
There's a big discussion about when humans became "behaviorally modern." Some theories say it happened suddenly, while others suggest it was a slow process.
One idea, called the Later Upper Paleolithic Model, suggests that modern human behavior appeared suddenly in Africa about 40,000 to 50,000 years ago. This change might have been due to new ways of thinking or even genetic changes. It's thought that this sudden change helped humans move out of Africa and spread globally.
Other ideas suggest that modern human behavior developed gradually, over a very long time. Evidence from Africa, especially from the Middle Stone Age (around 150,000 to 75,000 years ago), shows early signs of modern behaviors. Anthropologists like Sally McBrearty and Alison S. Brooks support this "gradual" idea. They argue that many important changes happened in Africa, not just in Europe. However, it's harder to find proof for older periods because fewer fossils and artifacts survive.
Contents
What is Modern Human Behavior?
To understand what "modern human behavior" means, we look at things that all human groups do today. These are called "human universals." Some examples include:
- Thinking in abstract ways.
- Making plans for the future.
- Trading goods with others.
- Working together in groups.
- Decorating their bodies.
- Controlling and using fire.
Humans also rely a lot on learning from others. This "cultural ratchet" effect means that human culture builds up over time, unlike how animals learn. This ability to learn and adapt quickly helped humans spread to many different environments outside of Africa. Since these cultural universals are found in all human cultures, they likely developed in Africa before humans left the continent.
Archaeologists look for certain things in ancient sites to find signs of modern human behavior. While some of these are still debated, many agree on these indicators:
- Burial: Burying the dead.
- Fishing: Catching fish for food.
- Figurative art: Creating pictures or sculptures (like cave paintings or small statues).
- Pigments and jewelry: Using colors (like ochre) and ornaments for decoration.
- Bone tools: Making tools from animal bones.
- Long-distance trade: Moving resources over long distances.
- Blade technology: Making sharp, thin stone blades.
- Diverse tools: Having many different types of tools that are made in a standard way and vary by region.
- Hearths: Building fireplaces.
- Composite tools: Tools made from several parts (like a spear with a stone tip).
Why is it Debated?
Some experts, like anthropologist John Shea, question the idea of a single "behavioral modernity." He prefers "behavioral variability," meaning human behavior has always been flexible and changing. He points out that finding more artifacts at one site doesn't always mean the people were more "modern." It could just be how the site was preserved. He also suggests that changes in tools might be due to things like population growth or new ways of finding food, not a sudden shift in thinking.
Recent discoveries have also complicated the debate. For example, some cave art in Spain and France has been dated, showing that Neanderthals made symbolic art (like lines, dots, and handprints) even before they met modern humans. This suggests that Neanderthals might have had some of these "modern" abilities too, challenging the idea that only Homo sapiens could do such things.
Theories of Modern Human Behavior
The "Upper Paleolithic Revolution" Idea
The "Upper Paleolithic Revolution" theory suggests that even though humans who looked like us (anatomically modern humans) appeared around 150,000 years ago, they didn't act or think like modern humans until about 50,000 years ago. This change led to their spread out of Africa into Europe and Asia.
Experts who support this idea, like Richard Klein, say that signs of modern behavior—like fishing, bone tools, hearths, many different types of artifacts, and fancy burials—are rare before 50,000 years ago. Art also becomes much more common after this time. Many researchers believe a change in the brain or genes, perhaps related to complex language, caused this big shift.
Philip Lieberman, a cognitive scientist, suggests that early humans (even Neanderthals) could communicate using sounds and gestures before 50,000 years ago. But around 50,000 years ago, Homo sapiens' necks became long enough to make more complex sounds, like the "ee," "oo," and "ah" vowel sounds. This allowed for fully symbolic language, which greatly increased the number of distinct sounds humans could make.
Other Ideas
In contrast, some anthropologists, especially those studying African archaeology, point to a gradual build-up of "modern" behaviors. They argue that these behaviors started much earlier than 50,000 years ago. For example, sites in South Africa like Blombos Cave show evidence of using marine resources, trading, making bone tools, and creating abstract decorations as far back as 80,000 years ago.
These researchers suggest that early humans were already smart, and what we call "behavioral modernity" is simply the result of thousands of years of cultural learning and adaptation. Some, like Francesco d'Errico, have even looked at Neanderthal culture. They found that Neanderthals also made complex tools and abstract art, suggesting that the basic abilities for modern behavior might be much older and shared by different early human groups. If both modern humans and Neanderthals showed these traits, then "modern human behavior" isn't unique to just our species. They argue that the idea of a sudden "human revolution" is too focused on Europe.
Another view, supported by archaeologists like Chris Henshilwood and Curtis Marean, suggests there was a "human revolution," but it happened in Africa and took tens of thousands of years. It wasn't a sudden change but a faster process, like the Industrial Revolution. They point to the appearance of ochre crayons and shell necklaces, used for decoration, as key signs. These items, found at sites like Blombos Cave, date back 70,000 to 160,000 years ago. This suggests that the emergence of Homo sapiens was connected to the development of modern thinking and behavior. They believe language was a "revolutionary" development, but it came from many social, cognitive, and cultural changes, not just one genetic mutation.
Some archaeologists, like Francesco d'Errico and João Zilhão, even argue that Neanderthals developed symbolic culture (like using pigments and pierced shells) on their own, without learning it from modern humans.
Finally, some cultural evolutionary models suggest that even if early humans had the ability for complex behaviors, these behaviors might not have been common until human populations grew larger. With small groups, complex cultural traits might have been lost easily. When population density increased, complex traits could be maintained and passed on more effectively.
Archaeological Evidence
Africa
Research suggests that Homo sapiens first appeared in Africa between 350,000 and 260,000 years ago. There's growing evidence that modern behaviors began to appear among early African humans around that time.
Before, scientists weren't sure where humans first evolved. But now, African archaeology is very important. When Cro-Magnon humans expanded into Europe around 48,000 years ago, they were already "modern." It's now widely believed that behavioral modernity appeared in Africa before 50,000 years ago, either much earlier or just before humans migrated out of Africa.
Many signs of abstract art, varied ways of finding food, and other "modern" behaviors have been found in Africa, especially in the South, North, and East.
- Blombos Cave in South Africa is famous for stone slabs with geometric designs, dated to about 77,000 to 100,000 years ago.
- Diepkloof in South Africa has ostrich eggshell containers with engraved patterns from 60,000 years ago.
- Beads and personal ornaments have been found in Morocco, possibly 130,000 years old. Shell beads from Blombos Cave are about 75,000 years old.
- Advanced hunting weapons, like bone and stone arrowheads, have been found at South African sites like Sibudu Cave (72,000–60,000 years ago). Some may have even used poisons! Bone harpoons from Katanda in Central Africa date to about 90,000 years ago.
- At Pinnacle Point in South Africa, evidence shows humans were heating stone (silcrete) to make it easier to shape into tools, starting around 164,000 years ago. This became common for making small, sharp tools around 72,000 years ago.
- In 2008, an ochre processing workshop (for making paints) was found at Blombos Cave, dating to about 100,000 years ago. This shows complex planning and skill.
- Modern behaviors like making shell beads, bone tools, arrows, and using ochre are also seen at a Kenyan site from 78,000–67,000 years ago.
- Early stone-tipped javelins or throwing spears were found in Ethiopia (Gademotta) from around 279,000 years ago.
Humans also started to use a wider variety of food sources, not just big game. Many South African sites show early use of aquatic resources like fish and shellfish. Pinnacle Point, for example, shows people eating marine resources as early as 120,000 years ago. Relying on predictable food sources like shellfish could have allowed people to stay in one place longer, helping complex social systems and symbolic behavior develop.
In 2018, evidence from Olorgesailie in Kenya, dating to about 320,000 years ago, showed early modern behaviors. These included long-distance trade (for obsidian), using pigments, and possibly making projectile points. This suggests that complex behaviors began around the same time as the earliest Homo sapiens fossils in Africa.
Europe
While Europe was once thought to be where modern behavior truly began, new discoveries show it's more complicated. When humans first arrived in Europe, they brought advanced stone tool technologies. The Aurignacian tool style, for example, is usually seen as a sign of modern humans. The discovery of "transitional" tool styles suggests that human groups developed through steps of innovation.
However, evidence of Neanderthal culture and tools has changed our understanding. Neanderthals were often seen as less advanced. But European sites show that Neanderthals also made personal ornaments and artistic items. For example, at Grotte du Renne, Neanderthal sites have yielded grooved animal teeth and ochre. There's also some debated evidence of Neanderthal ritual burials. This suggests that Neanderthals either copied modern human culture (meaning they had the ability to learn complex behaviors) or developed their own similar cultural traditions. If Neanderthals were also "behaviorally modern," then it's not a trait unique to Homo sapiens.
Asia
Most discussions about behavioral modernity have focused on Africa or Europe, but Asia is becoming more important. Unlike Europe, where humans arrived around 50,000 years ago, human remains in China date back about 100,000 years. This earlier presence challenges the idea that behavioral modernity was the only reason for migration.
Stone tool technology in East Asia is interesting. Advanced Acheulean and Levallois technologies, common in other parts of the world, don't seem to appear much in China. This might be because early human groups had small populations. However, other archaeological evidence in Asia does show signs of modern behavior. For instance, the settlement of the Japanese islands suggests early use of boats.
The Zhoukoudian cave system near Beijing has provided valuable information about early human behavior in East Asia. Although debated, there's evidence of possible human burials and personal ornaments (like beads and worked shells) dating back 34,000–20,000 years ago. Other symbolic objects, like pierced animal teeth and beads dyed with red ochre, have also been found. While the archaeological record in East Asia is incomplete, it shows signs of behavioral modernity before 50,000 years ago, though it becomes more obvious after that time.
See also
- Anatomically modern human
- Early Homo sapiens
- Blombos Cave
- Cultural universal
- Evolution of human intelligence
- Human evolution
- List of Stone Age art
- Origin of language
- Prehistoric art
- Recent African origin
- Sibudu Cave
- Symbolic culture
Images for kids
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Upper Paleolithic (16,000-year-old) cave painting from Lascaux cave in France
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A Māori man performing haka, a ceremonial dance. He is displaying several hallmarks of behavioral modernity including the use of jewelry, application of body paint, music and dance, and symbolic behavior.
