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The Ādam Paradox Hypothesis 53
6) The “Dip”
— MIS-4 Regression and Recovery
We include a transient dip immediately after the first crossing into C4.
During MIS-4 (~71–57 kya), severe aridity likely thinned populations and
fractured exchange networks, so symbolic packages faded regionally (e.g.,
post-Howieson’s Poort), even as underlying capacity persisted. This is a drop
in observed continuity, not a loss of cognitive potential.
Fig 7.2 — Cognitive Scale Over Time with Transient Dip.
Symbolic capacity rises toward C4 and briefly regresses during MIS-4 as networks thin and traditions
collapse locally. The dip reflects reduced persistence and spread, not loss of capacity. By ~50 kya,
demographic density and exchange stabilize C4 globally.