The Acheulean Origins of Normativity

‘Normativity’ refers to the human conformity to the behavioral modes of a society, which underpins diverse aspects of our behavior, including symbolism, cooperation, and morality. It has its developmental basis in overimitation, the uniquely human bias towards replicating the intentional actions of a demonstrator, regardless of their causal relevance. Using evidence from stone tool technology, we suggest that both overimitation and normativity have their evolutionary origins in the Acheulean cultural tradition. Overimitation can be seen in arbitrary biases in Acheulean toolmaking; while normativity is evident in geographically and temporally restricted sub-types of Acheulean tools, which do not appear to be functional specializations. We argue that normativity would have conferred particular advantages for the Acheulean niche of cooperative hunting of mega-herbivores and living in large groups, through coordinating hunting strategies, promoting equitable sharing, and enforcing the punishment of free-riders.