This study argues that the equipment of the Tyrolean Iceman offers a unique perspective for understanding the macroevolutionary-scale functional continuity between later Pleistocene and Holocene human technologies. The Iceman was discovered in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps and can be dated to around 3300 BC, corresponding to the North Italian early Copper Age. In his gear there are several technologies which are rarely found at prehistoric archaeological sites, including archery equipment, a complete set of clothing, and a personal tool kit. Our paper will discuss this technological assemblage within the framework of cultural evolutionary theories (subsequently abbreviated as CET). According to the concept of cumulative culture, tools and technologies may become the subject of cultural "descent with modification" which leads to the emergence of complex technological innovations. In conventional narratives, the Neolithic represents the single greatest macroevolutionary transition in human cultural evolution, accompanied by a whole set of novel innovations and encompassing the transition to agriculture. However, as we highlight, the Iceman's equipment includes several technologies with a pre-Neolithic cultural origin. Earlier variants of these technologies were used by cultural groups belonging to the Mesolithic and even the Upper and Middle Paleolithic. Our main goal will be to present an explanatory framework for this macroevolutionary-scale technological continuity. In order to achieve this goal, we explore the heuristic value of two basic concepts of cultural evolutionary explanations-namely, the concepts of innovation and adaptation. Building on this background, we present an overview of the data currently available on the evolutionary history of each technological adaptation found in the equipment of the Iceman. Our results suggest that these technologies were not primarily cultural innovations, but simultaneously they were "obligatory" functional adaptations with a deep evolutionary history.

中文翻译：

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蒂罗尔冰人的设备：史前技术文化进化中的创新与适应。


这项研究认为，蒂罗尔冰人的设备为理解晚更新世和全新世人类技术之间的宏观进化尺度功能连续性提供了独特的视角。冰人于 1991 年在奥茨塔尔阿尔卑斯山被发现，其历史可以追溯到公元前 3300 年左右，相当于意大利北部的早期铜器时代。他的装备中有多项史前考古遗址中罕见的技术，包括射箭装备、全套服装和个人工具包。我们的论文将在文化进化理论（随后缩写为 CET）的框架内讨论这种技术组合。根据累积文化的概念，工具和技术可能成为文化“传承与修改”的主体，从而导致复杂技术创新的出现。在传统的叙述中，新石器时代代表了人类文化进化中最伟大的宏观进化转变，伴随着一整套新颖的创新，并涵盖了向农业的转变。然而，正如我们强调的那样，冰人的设备包括多种具有新石器时代前文化起源的技术。这些技术的早期变体被属于中石器时代甚至旧石器时代中上层的文化群体所使用。我们的主要目标是为这种宏观进化规模的技术连续性提供一个解释框架。为了实现这一目标，我们探讨了文化进化解释的两个基本概念——创新和适应的概念的启发价值。 在此背景下，我们概述了目前可用的关于冰人设备中每种技术适应的进化历史的数据。我们的结果表明，这些技术主要不是文化创新，但同时它们是具有深厚进化历史的“强制性”功能适应。