The Justification for a Distinction Between Different Forms of Innovation in Prehistory

1) INTRODUCTION

The subject of innovation and the innovative abilities of prehistoric hominid populations is a widely discussed and disseminated area of research throughout the academic community. It is to be noted, however, that only very rarely, if ever, is any differentiation made between distinct forms of innovation. This paper will endeavour, therefore, to identify two separate forms of innovation and justify the demarcation between the two by analysing the ways in which they are represented in the archaeological record and forming interpretations and hypotheses based on the evidence which highlight the effects both forms of innovation have on hominid populations and the implications for behavioural patterns. The two forms of innovation to be considered are those of technological and symbolic innovation, with technology representing the development of adaptations to functional material culture, such as stone tools, and symbolism signifying advancements in more creative aspects, comprising both developments in symbolic material culture as well as creative thought. It will be argued that such a differentiation is important to make as we move away from the rigid and holistic categorisation of hominid taxa and populations and progress towards more detailed and focused interpretations of prehistoric life and the identification of material and cognitive developments in our ancestors that have led up to and resulted in the human race in its current form.

Three key questions will be asked and referred to throughout the paper, with direct answers being proposed in the final conclusion:

* Can different forms of innovation be identified within the archaeological record and can differentiation be justified? * What inferences can be drawn surrounding the way in which different forms of innovation affect behaviour? * Are there influences or pressures that can favour the development of one form of innovation over the other and what are the potential

Bibliography: Adkins, L & Adkins, R (1985) Neolithic Axes from Roman Sites in Britain. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 4(1), 69-76. Alexander, C (1962) The Origin of Creative Power in Children. British Journal of Aesthetics, 2(3), 207-226. Ambrose, S (2001) Paleolithic Technology and Human Evolution. Science, 291(5509), 1748-1753. Attenbrow, V et al. (2009) The Changing Abundance of Backed Artefacts in South-Eastern Australia: A Response to Holocene Climate Change? Bailey, G & Milner, N (2002) Coastal Hunter-Gatherers and Social Evolution: Marginal or Central? Before Farming: The Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter–Gatherers, 2002/3–4(1). Balter, M (2009) On the Origin of Art and Symbolism. Science, 323(5915), 709- 711. Banks, W et al. (2008) Neanderthal Extinction by Competitive Exclusion. PLoS ONE, 3(12), e3972. Bayle, P et al. (2010) Dental Maturational Sequence and Dental Tissue Proportions in the Early Upper Palaeolithic Child from Abrigo do Lagar Velho, Portugal Bednarik, R (1990) On the Cognitive Development of Hominids. Man and Environment, 15, 1–7. Bednarik, R (1997) The Global Evidence of Early Human Symboling Behaviour. Human Evolution, 12(3), 147-168. Bednarik, R (1998) The ‘Australopithecine’ Cobble from Makapansgat, South Africa Bednarik, R (2003) A Figurine from the African Acheulian. Current Anthropology, 44(3), 405-438. Bednarik, R (2007) Antiquity and Authorship of the Chauvet Rock Art. Rock Art Research, 24(1), 21-34. Belfer-Cohen, A & Hovers, E (1992) In the Eye of the Beholder: Mousterian and Natufian Burials in the Levant Bevan, C (2009) The Search for the First Words: The When, Why and How of Language Origins Bicho, N & Haws, J (2008) At the Land’s End: Marine Resources and the Importance of Fluctuations in the Coastline in the Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Economy of Portugal Binford, S (1968) A Structural Comparison of Disposal of the Dead in the Mousterian and Upper Palaeolithic 24(2), 139-154. Binford, L & Binford, S (1966) A Preliminary Analysis of Functional Variability in Bird-David, N (1999) “Animism” Revisited: Personhood, Environment, and Relational Epistemology Bocquet-Appel, J & Demars, P (2000) Neanderthal Contraction and Modern Human Colonization of Europe Bondevik, S et al. (2003) Record-Breaking Height for 8000-Year-Old Tsunami in the North Atlantic Bryant, E (1991) Natural Hazards. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Cahen, D et al. (1979) Stone Tools, Toolkits, and Human Behaviour in Prehistory. Current Anthropology, 20(4), 661-683. Chase, P & Nowell, A (1998) Taphonomy of a Suggested Middle Paleolithic Bone Flute from Slovenia Chase, P & Dibble, H (1987) Middle Palaeolithic Symbolism: A Review of Current Evidence and Interpretation Chippindale, C et al. (1998) The Archaeology of Rock-Art. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Clark, G (1965) Traffic in Stone Axe and Adze Blades. The Economic History Review, 18(1), 1-28. Clark, G & Lindly, J (1989) Modern Human Origins in the Levant and Western Asia: The Fossil and Archaeological Evidence Costa, L et al. (2005) Microlith to Macrolith: the Reasons behind the Transformation of Production in the Irish Mesolithic Crubézy, E & Trinkaus, E (1992) Shanidar 1: A Case of Hyperostotic Disease (DISH) in the Middle Palaeolithic Cummins, W (1974) The Neolithic Stone Axe Trade in Britain. Antiquity, 48, 201- 205. Dalmeri, G et al. (2005) The Discovery of a Painted Anthropomorphic Figure at Riparo Dalmeri and New Insights into Alpine Epigravettian Art Darwin, C (1839) Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty’s Ships Adventure and Beagle, between the Years 1826 and 1836, Describing their