There are two kinds of articles that you can count on finding in the science pages of the internet with great regularity. First, “Scientists Discover Amazing New Planet.” It might be smaller than any previously discovered, closer, in some way more similar to Earth, or it might have something weird about it that was previously thought to be impossible, like it has two suns, or no sun, or an atmosphere made out of pure nitrous oxide (I just made that last one up. I thought it was funny.) Second “Scientists Discover Mankind Existed Earlier Than We Thought We Did.” I suspect that articles in category 1 will be a mainstay of journalism for centuries to come. In category 2, I think we’re pretty close to reaching the limit.
Homo Chucknorrisius
Anyway, this article shows that early man (or maybe even a pre-human species) was making stone-tipped spears 500,000 years ago. Nothing earth-shattering, but it confirms what I’ve long suspected – that mankind was wandering around, not differentiated that much from gorillas, chimps, baboons, and orangutans for a very, very long time. They could make stone tipped spears (Chimps can sharpen sticks, and use them to fish for termites), and probably had a rudimentary language. I’m sure that even at that early stage they could say “Look out for that snake over there!” or “I’m tired, let’s sleep here tonight and carry on in the morning.” Again, because even the apes have that level of communication.
But, despite the tremendous entertainment value in Jean Auel’s novels, progress was probably really, really gradual. I’m not saying early man was stupid. They probably had about the same intellectual range that modern man does. But, if you or I lived in a society which hadn’t invented writing yet, we probably wouldn’t come up with it, either. Language, I suspect, evolved at the rate of a few words per generation, and every new generation probably thought they were brilliant.
The rate of progress has accelerated. Not because we are any smarter now. Just because a handful of brilliant individuals, very untypical of the species, almost mutants, really, have invented machines that are smarter (in some ways) than human beings.
It’s an amazing era we live in.
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