Core sharing: The transmission of knowledge of stone tool knapping in the Lower Palaeolithic, Qesem Cave (Israel)

This study presents evidence of possible early human collaboration – the sharing of procured stone and of knowledge of lithic technology in the Middle Pleistocene at Qesem Cave (Israel). the results of a techno-typological analysis of lithic cores used for knapping stone tools reveal that some cores were shared among several knappers, both experienced and less experienced ones, c 400 ka years ago. this ‘core sharing’ provided inexperienced knappers with the opportunity to practise and acquire knapping knowledge in an efficient way. Working on previously used but not fully exploited cores enabled beginners to acquire motor skills while learning about the technological traditions practised within the group. this kind of ‘teaching through sharing’ behaviour appears to have been a repeated pattern throughout the 200 ka of the cave’s inhabitancy, and constituted one of a number of learning pathways that have been observed in Qesem. sharing mechanisms are thought to have played an important role in human evolution. the flint cores presented in this study offer a reflection of a knowledge-sharing culture, and their presence reveals aspects of the social relations and norms of this early society.