Changing tool technologies are sometimes viewed as a linear process of improvement, in which inferior older implements are quickly discarded when new, different types of tools are made, he notes.
Potts believes that the same species, H. erectus or a very close relative, may have been present throughout. Changing tool technologies are sometimes viewed as a linear process of improvement, in which inferior older implements are quickly discarded when new, different types of tools are made, he notes. But that’s not always the reality. “Being adaptable can also mean flipping back and forth between different stone tool technologies under slightly different circumstances,” he says, “based on many factors like raw materials, conditions or how quickly food had to be processed.”