As does Renfrew, who in one of his many essays on the subject writes that, because civilization emerged long after the biological basis for intelligence, emphasis must be placed on “the aspects of the socialization process of shared experience.” In addition to being the key to solving the sapient paradox, it may well be the overarching theme of human history in general.Ĭhristian certainly seems to think so. In their work, scholars like Christian refer to the ability to preserve and transmit knowledge as collective learning. Once sedentary, it became easier for ancient humans to exchange ideas. The agricultural revolution, which took place between 12,000 and 9,000 BC, after the end of the last ice age, played a crucial - and even catalytic - role in that transformation. Dormant mechanismsĪlthough our genetic intelligence has changed little over the past 60,000 years, the way in which we apply that intelligence clearly has changed. Still, there’s another side to this coin - one concerning the nature of knowledge itself. When the oft-ignored developments of prehistoric times are given their due, the overall development of civilization starts to look more linear than exponential, making the sapient paradox less paradoxical. However, this could not be further from the truth, as the small steps taken by ancient humans allowed their modern-day descendants to run. Evidence of symbolic expression in the form of intentional patterns of red ochre, found in Blombos Cave, near Cape Town, dates back to 70,000 BC, while some experts argue speech developed 200,000 years ago.Īt a glance, the use of language and stone tools may not seem as impressive as the invention of, say, the steam engine or the internet. More recent discoveries suggest some of these behaviors occurred even earlier, in Africa. Graeber and Wengrow argue prehistoric hunter-gatherer communities were more complex than credited for.
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