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The Ādam Paradox Hypothesis 54
7) Anatomy vs. Cognition on One Page
Fig 7.3 — Overlay: Anatomy (A0–A5, 1–10) vs. Cognition (C0–C5, 1–100), 315 ka → present.
Reading the overlay.
Anatomy rises early to A4–A5 and plateaus—hardware ready.
Cognition remains ≤C2/low-C3 until the Threshold of Adam (C3→C4, ≈50), with a
short MIS-4 dip, then consolidation and rise toward C5.
The contrast—early hardware plateau vs later software/network flip—is the core
paradox this book resolves.
8) Gradualism vs. Threshold: Where We Land
Gradualist view. Africa shows early precursors (ochre, ornaments, microliths)
and thus no sharp “revolution”[McBrearty & Brooks, 2000].
Threshold view. Repeated false starts (C1–C2) followed by irreversible
wide-area traditions (C4) fit punctuated dynamics [Mithen, 1996; Tattersall,
2012; d’Errico & Stringer, 2011].
Synthesis. Anatomy plateaus early (A4–A5) while cognition lingers ≤C2/low-
C3; the Threshold of Adam is the C3→C4 transition (≈ score 50) dated ~70–
50 kya, with a transient MIS-4 dip reflecting network fragility rather than loss
of capacity; after ~50 kya, C4 persists and compounds toward C5.
