Posted on 07/25/2008 7:52:16 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A couple hundred-thousand years ago -- sometime after our hominid ancestors had controlled fire, but long before they were telling ghost stories -- early humans huddled around campfires to meditate and partake in shamanistic rituals. Today, when we slow down for a yellow light, recognize a dollar sign or do anything, really, that involves working memory, we have these ancient brainstorming sessions to thank. That's the somewhat controversial connection psychologist Matt J. Rossano is making. Ritualistic gatherings sharpened mental focus, he argues. Over time, this focus strengthened the mind's ability to connect symbols and meanings, eventually causing gene mutations that favored the enhanced memory we now possess... Eventually these connections led to complex forms of symbolism, which begin to show up in the archaeological record around 50,000 years ago. Archaeologists have found cave paintings from this time that display sophisticated symbolism, such as a lion-headed man that presumably infers some personality trait.
(Excerpt) Read more at smithsonianmag.com ...
Mel Brooks was on to something?
“those offspring that excelled in symbol recognition were favored by natural selection”
That’s more plausible than the author’s angle, but still there are several dots missing. Why would a primitive woman prefer mating with a symbol recognizing man or man with a symbol recognizing woman? Beauty, health, strength, status are more believable selection criteria.
Perhaps one could argue that shamans had a high social status that attracted more and better mates, but even that seems a bit like straw-grasping.
Memory? It took my dogs only one day to remember where I kept the dog treats. I think this guy has been alone in his room too long.
LOL Now try teaching your dog to sit in a lotus position and gaze at the logo on the treats box for an hour without moving.
That's trewwww. They were tricked into a red meat Cap&Trade system by the evil Euro-Sapiens and starved to death.
Gaze at the logo on the treats box? Oh No, they follow me around and gaze into my eyes, beaming the thought into my brain, ~~~DOG TREATS DOG TREATS DOG TREATS~~ I have VERY high functioning dogs.
CAT TREATS OR YOU DIE A HORRIBLE DEATH CAT TREATS OR YOU DIE A HORRIBLE DEATH CAT TREATS OR YOU DIE A HORRIBLE DEATH
LOL! Have a small drawing framed in my kitchen. It is a cat sitting on the floor looking up and the cats is saying/thinking “FEED ME YOU FOOL”. That’s cats for ya!
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