[PUGACHEV]

"Parents meditate, grow parts of their brains, and pass on the improvements to their children? Sounds like Lamarckism to me."

I think the author means that rituals involving meditation and trance gave rise to enhanced memory skills, which, in turn, altered the routines of early man in a way that made the use of the ability to understand symbols. Once such behavior became established, however it did, those offspring that excelled in symbol recognition were favored by natural selection.

[Finny]

I think some environmental catastrophe happened to a group somewhere along the line where they had to live together in tight quarters for long periods of time, or die. Something like caves. They were forced to become more calm and inward with each other, or none would survive. The trait may have been developed there.

Just a thought.

[rightwingcrazy]

“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.