Piaget, stone tools and the evolution of human intelligence

Archaeology can be used to study the evolution of human intelligence but to do so archaeologists must employ well established theories of intelligence. Piagetian theory is especially useful because it is evolutionary in scope and, just as important, can be used to analyze stone tools, the most abundant residue of prehistoric behavior. Using Piagetian method to analyze artefact geometries, the author has been able to assess the intelligence of two groups of early hominids. Oldowan tools required very simple spatial concepts, indicating an intelligence not much greater than that of modern apes. This suggests that human evolution prior to 1.5 million years ago may not have involved selection for intelligence. Later Acheulean artefacts, on the other hand, required sophisticated spatial concepts, indicating that an essentially modern intelligence had evolved by 300,000 years ago.