NP - Carvings Spark Debate on Origin of Abstract Thought

[David Morris]

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-011102human.story

Carvings Spark Debate on Origin of Abstract Thought
By USHA LEE McFARLING, Times Science Writer

The very modern human traits of complex and abstract thinking may have 
evolved in Africa 77,000 years ago--almost twice as early as previously 
believed--according to a team of anthropologists who unearthed intricate 
geometric carvings on bits of rock from a South African cave.

The finding, if verified, could overturn much current thinking in 
anthropology. But the sweeping claim is already generating controversy among 
experts in the field.

The discovery suggests that modern human behavior evolved in Africa rather 
than Europe. The artifacts, pieces of red rock etched with geometric shapes, 
are more than 40,000 years older than another milepost of complex behavior: 
the dazzling paintings of animals and humans on the walls of French caves.

"In light of this new evidence it seems that, at least in southern Africa, 
Homo sapiens was behaviorally modern about 77,000 years ago," wrote 
Christopher S. Henshilwood, the anthropologist who led the research. His 
findings are being published online today in the journal Science. The 
etchings, he said, "may have been constructed with symbolic intent."

Anthropologists consider the production of art, particularly the use of 
symbols, a hallmark of modern human behavior. Others include the development 
of specialized tools, including flaked spear points and fishing nets, and 
the use of decoration.

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