Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the History of Humanity have uncovered the truth about the time of the first human culture, dating back to the Mesolithic or the Middle Stone Age. It turned out that its characteristic methods of creating tools of labor existed up to 11 thousand years ago, and not until 30 thousand years ago, as previously thought. This is reported in an article published in Scientific Reports.
In the Middle Stone Age, people developed a technique for working stone, which is when sharp fragments are plucked from it, used to create tools such as scrapers and sharp points. These types of artifacts are found in layers that are 300-30 thousand years old, after which they are replaced by more sophisticated and small instruments.
Researchers have studied the sites of ancient people in various regions of West Africa, including the desert, forests and river systems of Senegal and the Gambia. According to scientists, these places are well isolated from other regions of Africa, and also less affected by climate change. That is why the transition to a new culture here took place much later.
About 15 thousand years ago in Central and West Africa, humidity and forest area increased significantly, which may have created corridors for the spread of a new culture from other regions.
