Compound‐Adhesive Manufacture as a Behavioral Proxy for Complex Cognition in the Middle Stone Age

@article{Wadley2010CompoundAdhesiveMA,
  title={Compound‐Adhesive Manufacture as a Behavioral Proxy for Complex Cognition in the Middle Stone Age},
  author={Lyn Wadley},
  journal={Current Anthropology},
  year={2010},
  volume={51},
  pages={S111 - S119}
}
  • L. Wadley
  • Published 1 June 2010
  • Sociology
  • Current Anthropology
Compound adhesives were made in southern Africa at least 70,000 years ago, where they were used to attach similarly shaped stone segments to hafts. Mental rotation, a capacity implying advanced working‐memory capacity, was required to place the segments in various positions to create novel weapons and tools. The compound glues used to fix the segments to shafts are made from disparate ingredients, using an irreversible process. The steps required for compound‐adhesive manufacture demonstrate… Expand
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