Modern Human Behavior Much Older Than Previously Thought

At an archeology meeting last month in Memphis, Tennessee, new research revealed that humans have been farming for at least 20,000 years, much longer than previously thought, while a study of ancient stone tools from South Africa found that hominins were making complex stone tools  as far back as 500,000 years ago. The first Homo sapiens first arose around 200,000 years ago. (See “New Light On Revolutions That Weren’t,” in Science, May 4, 2012)