Part 2/8:
While it may be easy to attribute this rapid expansion to genetic advantages, many researchers are more inclined to credit cultural innovation. At the time, sub-Saharan Africa and Eurasia were home to numerous small groups living in isolation from each other, each with their own accumulated cultural knowledge. The limited interactions among these groups often resulted in information loss, especially following natural disasters or the death of key leaders. However, once a group’s shared knowledge exceeded a certain critical mass, the potential for larger group sizes and complex cultural systems could lead to a runaway process of innovation.