Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the History of Humanity have revealed 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 the technique of stone processing, when sharp fragments are plucked off from it, used to create tools such as scrapers and sharp points. These types of artifacts are found in layers 300-30 thousand years old, after which they are replaced by more sophisticated and small instruments.
The researchers studied the sites of ancient people in various regions of West Africa, including the desert, forests and river systems of Senegal and 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, there was a significant increase in humidity and an increase in forest area, which may have created corridors for the spread of a new culture from other regions.