Did climate change make Homo sapiens innovative, and if yes, how? Debated perspectives on the African Pleistocene record

Abstract

Our enhanced capacity to innovate is a key feature that sets Homo sapiens apart as a species. The Middle Stone Age archaeological record of Pleistocene Africa documents the emergence and elaboration of this capacity, and its relationship to changes in past climate and environments. However, the models and interpretations developed to understand the relationship between early Homo sapiens’ innovativeness and climate change are varied and often contradictory. Here, we review these contrasting interpretations. We contend that while climate change may have influenced early human innovation, it was in an inconsistent and multifaceted way.