Prehistoric hunter-gatherers stayed connected across 200 kilometers, Israeli study finds

Ancient social networks may have been key to the resilience of prehistoric hunter-gatherer communities in the Southern Caucasus, according to June study published in Quaternary Science Reviews.

Led by Dr. Ariel Malinsky-Buller of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the study challenges long-held assumptions of how prehistoric hunter-gatherers survived between 57,000 and 27,000 years ago.

By combining archaeological, geological, and paleoenvironmental evidence, researchers were able to reconstruct how such small, wide-spread populations were able to navigate the diverse landscape spanning what is now Armenia, Georgia, and other neighboring regions.

The findings revealed a surprising paradox: Even though the hunter-gatherer communities were relatively small and sparsely located, they were not isolated.

Evidence found in stone tools and obsidian artifacts from the time showed that members of these communities routinely traveled between 40 and 200 kilometers, maintaining connections with other hunter-gatherers across vast territories.

Prehistoric communities, culture changed over a gradual period of time

Similar traditions found across the Southern Caucasus and the Armenian Highlands further suggest that prehistoric communities exchanged knowledge and maintained social ties over long distances.

Malinsky-Buller’s research provides a new perspective on on of the most important periods of human prehistory, the transition from the Middle Paleolithic age to the Upper Paleolithic age. 

It shows that instead of a rapid replacement of one population or culture by another, evidence points to a more gradual process, where different cultures and traditions successfully coexisted for thousands of years.

Researchers argue that the mobility of these communities, their environmental conditions, population size, and social networks must all be considered when reconstructing how ancient communities reacted to wider change.

"Our findings suggest that mobility alone does not tell the full story of prehistoric survival," said Dr. Ariel Malinsky-Buller. "Even in regions with small and dispersed populations, people remained connected through networks of knowledge, technology, and social interaction.”

“These connections may have been just as important as environmental adaptation in helping communities endure periods of profound change."

The study was conducted by an international team of researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Yerevan University, the University of Castilla-La Mancha, the University of Algarve, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, the University of Seville, the University of California Berkeley, Yale University, the University of Liverpool, the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg, and the Royal Holloway University of London.