Archeologists have unearthed a number of8,000 - class - oldstone toolson the Arabian Peninsula that intimately mime the ones famously craft by Native Americans up to 13,000 age ago . Despite being separated by thousands of mi and millennia , it appear these two ancient culture managed to come up with the same idea and develop remarkably standardized technology .
" give their age and the fact that the fluted points from America and Arabia are separated by M of kilometer , there is no potential ethnic connection between them , " Professor Michael Petraglia , an anthropologist from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History who worked on the project , said in astatement . “This is then a clear and first-class example of ethnic convergence or independent innovation in human history . "
describe in the journalPLOS One , an international team of researcher detail the uncovering of flutedpoints from the archeological sites of Manayzah in modern - day Yemen and Ad - Dahariz in modern - daylight Oman on the Arabian Peninsula . Dating to around 8,000 to 7,000 twelvemonth ago , the I. F. Stone tools dwell of rocket points that have been expertly craft by a technique called fluting , which involves the extraction of an elongated flake along the length of the point , while leaving a distinctive grooveat thebase of the spearhead or arrowhead ( image below ) .
This engineering waswidely craft in North Americabetween 13,000 and 10,000 years ago . However , this is the first time the distinct fluted tool has been expose outside of the North American continent . For anthropologists studying the evolution of prehistoric cultures , that ’s a profoundly exciting estimate .
“ These fluted power point were , until lately , unsung elsewhere on the major planet . This was until the other 2000s , when the first isolated examples of these aim were recognized in Yemen , and more recently in Oman , " explicate Rémy Crassard , confidential information author of the study from the French National Centre for Scientific Research ( CNRS ) .
As cite , the researchers are see this as a unparalleled example of culturalconvergent evolution , the estimation of two cultures creating interchangeable technology independently of each other . This is an idea adopt from evolutionary biology to excuse when organisms not closely relate independently develop similar traits as a result of having to adapt to standardised environs or ecological niches .
However , while the fluted point may look standardized , the researchers conceive they held a unlike significance to the two cultures . anthropologist have antecedently meditate the Native Americanfluted item were crafted to sturdily tie the arrowhead to the handle , making the pecker more resilient . While the melodic theme and the craft method are the same , the investigator conclude that the Arabian compass point were fashioned this means for aesthetic time value or to show off the skill of the journeyman .
“ It was like a peacock butterfly ’s feathering — it was all for appearance . They used flute to show just how skilled they were at using this very difficult engineering , with its heightened risk of failure , " add Professor Joy McCorriston , survey generator from the Department of Anthropology at the Ohio State University .
