Steven Pinker -- How the Mind Works - Hampshire High Italian ...

Revenge of the Nerds 199THE MODERN STONE AGE FAMILYThe dry bones of the fossil record tell of a gradual entry into the cognitiveniche. A summary of the current evidence on the species thought tobe our direct ancestors is shown in the table below.SkullTeethToolsDistributionvery low forehead; projectingface; hugebrow ridgeslarge caninesstone hammers, leafsponges, stem probes,branch leversWest Africa}chimplike molars butnot canines?East Africaapelike fragmentschimplike size andplacement; humanlikeenamel?East Africalow flat forehead; projectingface; big browridgeslarge canines andmolarsnone? flakes?East Africa (maybealso west)smaller face; rounderskullsmaller molarsflakes, choppers,scrapersEast and South Africathick; large browridges (Asia); smaller,protruding facesmaller teethsymmetrical hand axesAfrica (may be separatespecies), Asia,Europehigher skull; smaller,protruding face; largebrow ridgessmaller teethbetter hand axes,retouched flakesAfrica, Asia, Europehigh skull; mediumbrow ridges; slightlyprotruding face; chinsmaller teethretouched flakes;flake-blades; pointsAfrica, Western Asiamodernmodernblades; drills; spearthrowers; needles;engravers; boneworldwide