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Laziness helped lead to extinction of Homo erectus

Date:
August 10, 2018
Source:
Australian National University
Summary:
New archaeological research has found that Homo erectus, an extinct species of primitive humans, went extinct in part because they were 'lazy'.
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New archaeological research from The Australian National University (ANU) has found thatHomo erectus, an extinct species of primitive humans, went extinct in part because they were 'lazy'.

An archaeological excavation of ancient human populations in the Arabian Peninsula during the Early Stone Age, found thatHomo erectusused 'least-effort strategies' for tool making and collecting resources.

This 'laziness' paired with an inability to adapt to a changing climate likely played a role in the species going extinct, according to lead researcher Dr Ceri Shipton of the ANU School of Culture, History and Language.

"They really don't seem to have been pushing themselves," Dr Shipton said.

"I don't get the sense they were explorers looking over the horizon. They didn't have that same sense of wonder that we have."

Dr Shipton said this was evident in the way the species made their stone tools and collected resources.

"To make their stone tools they would use whatever rocks they could find lying around their camp, which were mostly of comparatively low quality to what later stone tool makers used," he said.

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"At the site we looked at there was a big rocky outcrop of quality stone just a short distance away up a small hill.

"But rather than walk up the hill they would just use whatever bits had rolled down and were lying at the bottom.

"When we looked at the rocky outcrop there were no signs of any activity, no artefacts and no quarrying of the stone.

"They knew it was there, but because they had enough adequate resources they seem to have thought, 'why bother?'."

这与洛杉矶的石器工具制造商ter periods, including earlyHomo sapiensand Neanderthals, who were climbing mountains to find good quality stone and transporting it over long distances.

Dr Shipton said a failure to progress technologically, as their environment dried out into a desert, also contributed to the population's demise.

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"Not only were they lazy, but they were also very conservative," Dr Shipton said.

"The sediment samples showed the environment around them was changing, but they were doing the exact same things with their tools.

"There was no progression at all, and their tools are never very far from these now dry river beds. I think in the end the environment just got too dry for them."

The excavation and survey work was undertaken in 2014 at the site of Saffaqah near Dawadmi in central Saudi Arabia.

Story Source:

Materialsprovided byAustralian National University.Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Ceri Shipton, James Blinkhorn, Paul S. Breeze, Patrick Cuthbertson, Nick Drake, Huw S. Groucutt, Richard P. Jennings, Ash Parton, Eleanor M. L. Scerri, Abdullah Alsharekh, Michael D. Petraglia.阿舍利文化的技术和景观在Dawadmi使用,central Arabia.PLOS ONE, 2018; 13 (7): e0200497 DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0200497

Cite This Page:

Australian National University. "Laziness helped lead to extinction of Homo erectus." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 August 2018. /releases/2018/08/180810091542.htm>.
Australian National University. (2018, August 10). Laziness helped lead to extinction of Homo erectus.ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 6, 2023 from www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/08/180810091542.htm
Australian National University. "Laziness helped lead to extinction of Homo erectus." ScienceDaily. www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/08/180810091542.htm (accessed September 6, 2023).

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