Dataset for Study: ""Mind Over Muscle": Neural and Biomechanical Signatures of Expertise in Early Stone Tool Use"

This dataset was used in the study “Mind Over Muscle: Neural and Biomechanical Signatures of Expertise in Early Stone Tool Use”, which investigates the influence of cumulative tool-related expertise on neural and muscular activity during experimentally replicated early stone tool behaviors. The dataset contains anonymized electroencephalographic (EEG) and electromyographic (EMG) measurements collected from participants with different levels of knapping expertise (Novice, Intermediate, and Expert) and different hand preferences. EEG data correspond to mean beta-band power values recorded from selected cortical channels, while EMG data represent percentage maximum voluntary contraction (%MVC) values for the monitored muscles. Recordings were obtained during the aiming (preparatory) stage of two experimental tasks: cutting through pleather using an Oldowan-style stone flake and hammerstone use for nut-cracking. The dataset corresponds to the values used for the statistical analyses presented in the study and is provided to support transparency, reproducibility, and future comparative research on the neuromechanics of early hominin tool use. Ethical approval for the experiments was obtained from the relevant institutional ethics committee, and all procedures complied with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (see associated study for more details).