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Behavioral Specialization During the Neolithic–An Evolutionary Model (2018)


The emergence of agriculture and complex societies during the Near Eastern Neolithic opened a new era in human evolution. Food production seriously affected ...

A further consequence of the above is that it may provide insight into the so-called Sapient Paradox, which is the question of why behaviorally (and probably genetically) modern humans had no technological revolution between the Upper Palaeolithic and the Neolithic ( Renfrew, 2008). Finally, as we have already mentioned before, this simple model did not contain some important elements of the typical subsistence life, such as sexual DL, food sharing, reputation-based mate choice, or social pressure. Interestingly, despite all the differences, the two models find results in agreement with each other: a larger group size and an increased importance of learning a skill facilitates the emergence of DL, and thus seem to be crucial and robust requirements.

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