Expert cognition in the production sequence of Acheulian cleavers at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel: A lithic and cognitive analysis

Abstract

Stone cleavers are one of the most distinctive components of the Acheulian toolkit. These tools were produced as part of a long and complex reduction sequence and they provide indications for planning and remarkable knapping skill. These aspects hold implications regarding the cognitive complexity and abilities of their makers and users. In this study we have analyzed a cleaver assemblage originating from the Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov, Israel, to provide a reconstruction of the chaîne opératoire which structured their production. This reduction sequence was taken as the basis for a cognitive analysis which allowed us to draw conclusion regarding numerous behavioral and cognitive aspects of the GBY hominins. The results indicate that the cleavers production incorporated a highly specific sequence of decisions and actions which resulted in three distinct modes of cleavers modification. Furthermore, the decision to produce a cleaver must have been taken very early in the sequence, thus differentiating its production from that of handaxes. The substantial predetermination and the specific reduction sequence provide evidence that the Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov hominins had a number of cognitive categories such as a general ‘tool concept’ and a more specific ‘cleaver concept’, setting them apart from earlier tool-producing hominins and extant tool-using non-human primates. Furthermore, it appears that the Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov lithic technology was governed by expert cognition, which is the kind of thinking typical of modern human experts in their various domains. Thus, the results provide direct indications that important components of modern cognition have been well established in the minds of the Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov hominins.

Elephant and Mammoth Hunting during the Paleolithic: A Review of the Relevant Archaeological, Ethnographic and Ethno-Historical Records

“…However, it is our contention that the required cognitive abilities, including team work, social cooperation, communication skills and the production of a wide array of tools suitable for hunting (mostly made of perishable material such as wood), were all integral components of their abilities (see [28,97] for supporting data). Such abilities have already been suggested regarding the occupants of the Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya'akov, 780,000 years ago [30,164], who are known to have procured and eaten elephants [165]. Furthermore, the large quantities of fat and meat associated with elephants may imply the existence of some form of food sharing between group members and possibly between different groups, and/or preservation, as well as the existence of cooperative acquisition strategies [7].…”

Expert Retrieval Structures and Prospective Memory in the Cognition of Acheulian Hominins

“…A detailed examination of the distal configurations of the GBY cleavers has shown that three different modes were employed in their production ( Figure 2). This shows that the decision to produce a cleaver must have taken place in an early phase of the reduction sequence, prior to the modification of the slab fragment into a core (Herzlinger et al, 2017).…”

“…It is an ecologically valid (Gobet, 2016) variety of thinking deployed in real-world circumstances, and relies on a medley or cognitive resources including perception, motor memory and control, routinized sequences, and executive decision making (de Groot, 1965;Gobet, 1998;Ericsson & Delaney, 1999;Ericsson et al, 2000;Gobet & Simon, 2000). Expert cognition is thus an appropriate cognitive model for interpreting Palaeolithic remains, especially the technical and foraging remains that constitute the vast majority of Palaeolithic evidence (Wynn & Coolidge, 2014;Herzlinger et al, 2017;.…”

“…The material culture of earlier hominins mostly lacks artistic expressions and is dominated by stone artifacts whose makers are thereby considered by default less evolved (e.g., Herrmann et al, 2007). Stone artifacts are used by archaeologists to study the cognition of ancient hominins, applying a variety of approaches, including comparison to other tool-using primates (Schick et al, 1999), monitoring modern brain activity during knapping (Stout et al, 2000;Hecht et al, 2014) and evaluating the skill, dexterity, and cognitive abilities using psychological models (Herzlinger et al, 2017;Feizi et al, 2018).…”

“…The second used the distal intersection between the ventral face and a remnant of a large negative scar on the dorsal distal end. The third used invasive retouch to delineate an unmodified triangular surface at the dorsal distal edge(Herzlinger et al, 2017) (Figure 2). The observed profile morphologies of the distal ends of the GBY cleavers (i.e.…”