Page 42 - Flipping book The Adam Paradox Hypothesis - Second Edition.pdf

The Ādam Paradox Hypothesis
Strand Three: The Continuity Test
19
Punctuated Traditions
Archaeologists now recognize that symbolic behaviors pre-70 ka are
punctuated episodes, not continuous traditions.
Francesco d’Errico and Chris Stringer summarize:
“Symbolic behaviors appear early,
but are sporadic and unstable, only later becoming cumulative and widespread” (d’Errico &
Stringer, 2011, p. 1062).
Paul Mellars adds:
“The pattern is not gradual accumulation, but episodic bursts separated
by silence” (Mellars, 2006, p. 938).
Why Sparks Fail
1.Demographic Fragility: Small, dispersed groups could not sustain symbolic
innovations; drift erased them (Powell, Shennan, & Thomas, 2009).
2.Climatic Stress: MIS 5–4 oscillations forced populations into refugia,
disrupting continuity (Marean, 2010).
3.Cognitive Threshold Not Yet Crossed: The sparks prove potential, but the
stable symbolic code linking language, ritual, and myth was not yet active.
Figure 3.2 — Sparks vs. Ignition
The line between sparks and ignition
Red dots (left side): Pre-70 ka sparks → Kapthurin, Pinnacle Point, Blombos, Diepkloof.
Blue rising line (right side): Post-70 ka ignition → Sulawesi, Aurignacian, Chauvet, Global
symbolism.
Dashed black line (~70 ka): Threshold of ignition.