On the Possibility of an ’Astronomical Perspective’ in the Study of Human Evolution‏

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On the Possibility of an ’Astronomical Perspective’ in the Study of Human Evolution

 

Elio Antonello 

INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera 

Via E. Bianchi 46, 23807 Merate, Italy 

elio.antonello@brera.inaf.it 

http://arxiv.org/pdf/1312.1561.pdf

Abstract 

The ‘Sapient Paradox’ is the apparently 

unexplainable time delay of several ten thousand years 

following the arrival of Homo sapiens in Asia and Europe 

and before the introduction of impressive innovations 

with the agricultural revolution. 

Renfrew (2007) has suggested 

that the solution of the paradox has to do 

with changes in modes of thought 

that occurred with sedentism. 

According to Renfrew, 

this is a subject of study 

for cognitive archaeology 

where the final goal would be 

to understand the formation 

of the human mind. 

Several scholars, however, 

affirm that climatic change 

was crucial to such a revolution 

as it would have been very difficult 

to develop agriculture 

during the Palaeolithic. 

In other words, 

sedentism was not justified 

during the ice age, 

and that may 

be the solution to the paradox. 

It is widely accepted 

that climate variations 

were due to so-called 

orbital forcing, 

the slow periodic changes 

of orbital parameters of the Earth 

(known also as the Milankovitch theory). 

These and other astronomical effects 

on the climate are discussed along with 

the consequent impact on human evolution. 

The question then rises as to whether or not 

it is possible to adopt an ‘astronomical’ perspective 

instead of (or complementary to) 

the ‘cognitive archaeological’ one. 

Such would be possible by adopting 

a different point of reference 

(that is, from ‘outside’), 

and a non-anthropocentric approach.