Page 116 - Flipping book The Adam Paradox Hypothesis - Second Edition.pdf

The Ādam Paradox Hypothesis 93
3. The Perishability Objection: “Early symbols existed but were expressed in
perishable media.
”
Claim. This view holds that pre-70kya humans were symbolic but expressed
culture in fragile forms (wood, textiles, rituals) that left no trace.
Response. This claim is unfalsifiable: any absence of evidence is explained
away by preservation bias. Moreover, durable pre-70kya symbols do exist
(e.g., Qafzeh beads, Blombos ochres, Diepkloof engravings), yet they
vanish without continuity. If symbolism truly pervaded early populations,
we would expect at least some continuous durable traditions alongside
perishable ones. We do not.
Prediction. If the perishability hypothesis is valid, systematic surveys in
regions with high preservation potential should reveal continuous durable
traditions before 120kya. To date, no such evidence exists.
4. The Amplification Objection: “Small regulatory tweaks and gene–culture
feedback loops could explain ignition.
”
Claim. Regulatory networks can magnify small changes, while culture can
drive feedback loops that accelerate cognitive shifts.
Response. Amplification and feedback help explain spread and persistence,
but they do not solve the timing paradox. Key loci (FOXP2, HAR1,
SRGAP2C, ARHGAP11B) predate the explosion by hundreds of
thousands to millions of years. If these were sufficient, symbolic culture
should have stabilized far earlier. Feedback mechanisms cannot account for
the sudden silence-to-explosion pattern.
Prediction. Ancient DNA should reveal timed regulatory synchrony close
to ~70kya if natural amplification explains ignition. If instead regulatory
elements remain scattered across deep time, the timing paradox persists.