[SonOfDarkSkies]

Best I can tell, that's a printing error. Here's the accurate quote.

‘When Julian Jaynes...speculates that until late in the second millennium B.C. men had no consciousness but were automatically obeying the voices of gods, we are astounded but compelled to follow this remarkable thesis through all the corroborative evidence...
-John Updike, The New Yorker

In the book, which I have read over and over again and am still studying (and highly recommend), Jaynes points to a period around 3,000 years ago.

[dsc]

Interesting. I’ll put that on my list of books to read.

That would rather mean that humanity appeared on the scene much later than we have been assuming, wouldn’t it?

Anatomically-modern man appeared what, 100k years ago? But was he a person if he was not conscious? How can a being that is not conscious do what the ancients did?