An international debate redefines the Acheulean, a key period of human evolution
IPHES-CERCA is part of an international team that has published an article proposing new perspectives to interpret the variability of the Acheulean Industry and move towards more integrative models regarding the technological and cultural evolution of the
The Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES-CERCA) is part of the international team that has published an article in the journal Evolutionary Anthropology about the meaning and diversity of the Acheulean, one of the most important and long-lasting technological complexes in human history, in which the authors highlight the need to move towards more integrative approaches that overcome traditional typological definitions and allow for a better understanding of the diversity of early human technologies.
The Acheulean represents the longest known cultural period, with a duration exceeding 1.75 million years, from its origin in Africa to its expansion through Eurasia. However, more than 150 years after its definition, it remains a subject of debate.
The article, titled “What is the Acheulean?”, arises from a scientific meeting held in November 2025 at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris (France). This gathering brought together nearly twenty international specialists in prehistory and human evolution within the framework of the European Lateurope ERC Project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC), in which Dr. Marina Mosquera, director of IPHES-CERCA, and researchers Dr. Deborah Barsky and Dr. Andreu Ollé participated.
In the meeting, whose main objective was to discuss how the Acheulean is defined in different regions of the world and what it implies in terms of behavior, technology, and human evolution, the researchers agreed that there is no single universal definition, but rather multiple interpretations conditioned by diverse geographical and chronological contexts.
The study highlights the great regional variability of the Acheulean in Africa, Asia, and Europe, as well as the difficulties in associating it with specific hominin species. This complexity reflects the dynamic and cumulative nature of human cultural evolution.
Reference:
Marie-Helene Moncel, Carolina Cucart-Mora, Marta Arzarello, Nick Ashton, Javier Baena, Deborah Barsky, Ignacio de la Torre, Nena Galanidou, Paula García-Medrano, Christine Hertler, Gadi Herzlinger, Thomas Ingicco, Hao Li, Dongdong Ma, Marina Mosquera, Andreu Ollé, Shanti Pappu, Shuwen Pei, Chun Tian, Wei Wang, Christopher J. Bae. “What Is the Acheulean?,” Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews35 (2026): e70029, https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.70029.