Cookie Consent by Cookie Consent by TermsFeed
 
Bradshaw Foundation Paleoanthropology News
Bradshaw Foundation Paleoanthropology News
Bradshaw Foundation Paleoanthropology News
Bradshaw Foundation - Latest News
When Did the Early Humans Acquire a Mind?
Tuesday 23 June 2020

Paleolithic Period: When Did the Early Humans Acquire a Mind?

By Robert Garland, Ph.D., Colgate University

FROM THE LECTURE SERIES: THE OTHER SIDE OF HISTORY: DAILY LIFE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD

We have learned a lot about the daily lives of early humans in the Paleolithic period from the various fossils we have excavated over the years. What about the human mind? When, in fact, did we acquire a mind?

Paleolithic Period Early Humans Acquire Mind Robert Garland Colgate University Chauvet Altamira
The charcoal drawings of Chauvet. The subjects of cave art by early humans were predominantly wild animals such as rhinos, horses & bison.

A mind isn’t just a brain. A mind is something that is capable of symbolic thought, of art, of language, of reasoning, of complex emotion, of social organization, and of manipulation, specifically of the manipulation of other humans.

Article continues below
Article continues

Well, there’s a general consensus among paleoanthropologists that early humans acquired minds somewhere between 60,000 and 20,000 years ago. Somewhere in that period, in other words, our ancestors became capable of creating objects of aesthetic appeal, having more extensive social connections, and being able to live imaginatively in the past as well as the future.

Paleolithic Period Early Humans Acquire Mind Robert Garland Colgate University Chauvet Altamira
The cave paintings of Altamira. Cave paintings are proof that early humans had a high level of technical skill, and an ability to visualize imaginatively through the symbolic language of art.

They did so because they were now sufficiently freed from the exigencies of life. Life was no longer just a fight for survival. There was a little bit of giving in the system, and that enabled us to become human in a cultural and social sense.

Robert Garland addresses some fundamental questions:

The Development of Language

Early Human Artistic Endeavors

When Humans Acquired a Mind

What Differentiates Humans from Other Species?

When did humans first speak?

What was the purpose of cave paintings?

What can we learn from cave paintings?

What is the oldest rock art in the world?

click here to read the full article

Comment
Paleoanthropology
Lee Berger named NGS Explorer in Residence
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 21 March 2023
New study on Neanderthal hunting and butchery
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 07 February 2023
Denisovan connection in Laos
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 19 May 2022
Understanding Ice Age behaviour
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 19 October 2021
New type of ancient human discovered
by Bradshaw Foundation
Friday 25 June 2021
New graphic adaptation of Sapiens
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 09 November 2020
Oldest Neanderthal DNA found
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 03 November 2020
Controlled fire temperature for tools
by Bradshaw Foundation
Wednesday 28 October 2020
When Did the Early Humans Acquire a Mind?
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 23 June 2020
Genetic distance of Neanderthals & humans
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 04 June 2020
Altai Neanderthals trapped & hunted golden eagles
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 14 May 2020
Oldest H. sapien bones found in Bulgaria
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 12 May 2020
Neanderthals used flowers in mortuary rituals
by Bradshaw Foundation
Wednesday 19 February 2020
Paleo diet of roasted vegetables
by Bradshaw Foundation
Tuesday 21 January 2020
Neanderthals dived for shells to make tools
by Bradshaw Foundation
Monday 20 January 2020
The extinction of the Neanderthal
by Bradshaw Foundation
Thursday 28 November 2019
Follow the Bradshaw Foundation on social media for news & updates
Follow the Bradshaw Foundation
on social media for news & updates
Follow the Bradshaw Foundation on social media for news & updates
Follow the Bradshaw Foundation
on social media for news & updates
If you have enjoyed visiting this website
please consider adding a link © Bradshaw Foundation
 
 
ROCK ART NETWORK
Rock Art Network Bradshaw Foundation Getty Conservation Institute
PALEOANTHROPOLOGY
Bradshaw Foundation Donate Friends
Support our work & become a
Friend of the Foundation
 
 
Bradshaw Foundation Facebook
 
Bradshaw Foundation YouTube
Bradshaw Foundation iShop Shop Store
Bradshaw Foundation iShop Shop Store
Bradshaw Foundation iShop Shop Store