Harsh Ice Age Drove Technological Innovation, Study Suggests
L'essentiel
- A study in the Journal of Human Evolution suggests a harsh ice age in Henan province, China, spurred technological innovation in an extinct human species, Homo juluensis.
- This challenges the notion that creativity only thrives in good times, highlighting adaptation under duress.
Résumé généré par IA
Pourquoi c'est important
The article discusses how resource-rich nations don't always become great powers and that overcoming adversity can lead to success. It introduces a study finding inventive tools from a harsh ice age in Henan province, China.
Places well-endowed with natural resources don’t usually become great powers or world-conquering empires.
If anything, many suffer from the “resource curse”, which corrupts the domestic elite and invites foreign intervention, exploitation or outright colonisation.
Like people, communities or nations that have fought to overcome adversity and disadvantages often become the most successful. Challenges – whether natural, geographical, social or military – make them fighters and winners.
The site’s discovery in Henan province of remarkably inventive tools suggests that a harsh ice age drove technological innovation for an extinct human species, hypothetically named Homo juluensis.
Yuchao Zhao, lead author of a paper in the Journal of Human Evolution, noted that: “People often imagine creativity as something that flourishes in good times. Finding out that these stone tools were made during a harsh ice age tells a different story. Hard times can force us to adapt.”
He added: “The underlying logic of this system – and the cognitive abilities it reflects – shows important similarities to Middle Palaeolithic technologies often associated with Neanderthals in Europe and with human ancestors in Africa, suggesting that advanced technological thinking was not limited to Western Eurasia.”
Questions ouvertes
- What is the specific dating of the ice age period mentioned?
- What is the exact classification of Homo juluensis?
- What are the specific similarities to Middle Palaeolithic technologies?
- What are the implications for understanding human migration patterns?
