Did different groups of humans independently discover roughly the same things at about the same time?

To some extent, yes. Language of course exists wherever humans are—that’s a natural capacity of the human mind. There’s no human society that doesn’t have language. And everyone seems to have discovered fire very early on.

However, there were societies without agriculture, writing, or certain technologies. Writing was invented independently in at least three places: China, Egypt, and Mesoamerica, but only in those places.

But then the wheel was invented in only one place. And even by the 15th century, no one in the Americas had invented the wheel. One wonders if they ever would have.

I believe all of those things were well developed prior to our leaving Africa. Agriculture might be the exception depending on your definition. Of the necessities listed, it was the arrival of sophisticated agriculture that allowed for “settling down” and the development of “communities”.

Does Africa have very many forest fires? That’s the only logical way we would discover fire, and what it can do for us, and learn to harness it. That brings up an interesting point @stanleybmanly.

Except for modern technologies such lighting, steam machine, electricity, etc. If those group of human never care about having a relationship with another group of people then they’ll never get/know the inventions created by those people.

Here is some info on fire and early humans.
I think you’re right, @stanleybmanly. We had fire when we left Africa.

@Unofficial_Member the population of the earth was so sparse and widely scattered that they could go entire lifetimes having no interactions with people outside of their own villages or tribes.

Oh, this is interesting. The Olmecs built their first pyramids in 1000 BC, the Egyptians about 1500 years earlier than that. (Is that considered roughly “at the same time” in evolutionary terms?)

We had fire and language when the diaspora began. We spread over the earth because hunter-gatherers are per force nomadic. You kill or collect all the local stuff and move on. Agriculture was the key to “settling down”. Everything from mathematics to architecture hinged on those crops.

@Dutchess_III Language, fire, building, agriculture….I think we all discovered them at about the same time…

What evidential support corroborates this contention?

Which contention?