Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods
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Inuit Indians, 234
Israel, 151–52
Italy, 94
Jacobsen, Thorkild, 167–68, 170–71
James, William, 104–5, 123, 199
Jaspers, Karl, 199
Jaynes, Julian, 218
Johnson, Dominic, 65
Jordan, 151
Joseph, Rhawn, 216
Judaism, 201
Jung, Carl, 1
Ka, 179, 181
Kalahari San, 236
Kennett, Douglas, 141
Kfar Hahoresh, Israel, 151–52
King, Barbara, 207
Kings, 170–72, 205; Tutankhamun, 180–81, 196
1 Kings 18:20–40, 275n38
Klein, Richard, 95
Koryak, 238
Kramer, Samuel, 173
Lamps, 89, 103
Land ownership, 147
Language: autobiographical memory and, 110; cognition before, 79–80; human brain related to, 9, 80–81, 241n10; introspective self and, 78–82; linguistics and, 81; of Mesopotamia, 166, 169, 269n8; origin of, 78–79; sign, 44; social grooming and, 78–79
Langworthy, Orthello, 226
Lascaux cave art, 96, 99–100, 103, 123
Lateral prefrontal cortex (BA 9 and 46), 84, 85; of children, 163; intelligence and, 31–32, 32; planning related to, 162, 162–64
Leary, Mark, 20, 80
Letter from a Region of My Mind (Baldwin), 133
Letter to a Christian Nation (Harris), 221
Lewis-Williams, David, 110, 122
Lice, 71
Linden, David, 212
Linguistics, 81
Lobotomies, 61
Longshan culture, 190–92
Long-term memory, 105. See also Autobiographical memory
“Lucy,” 26
Luther, Martin, 199
Macaques, 24–25
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 13
Major religions: adherents of, 200; birth of, 198–99; borrowing by, 200–1; death and, 199; government and, 200; support from, 199–200, 205
Malaysia, 237–38
Malraux, André, 165, 187
Mammalian brains, 18, 23–24
Manitous (spirits), 232–33
Man’s Fate (Malraux), 165
Manus Islanders, 237
Maoris, 118
Marshack, Alexander, 90
Marsupial mammals, 18
Masks, 151, 157–58
Mataco Indians, 235
Mathnawī (Rūmi), 68
Mbuti Pygmies, 236
McBrearty, Sally, 101
McGovern, Patrick, 141–42, 146, 154
McGuire, Michael, 212
McNamara, Patrick, 1, 118–19, 216–17, 219
Meat eating, 27
Medial prefrontal cortex, 46, 63–64, 127, 162
Meditation, 216
Mellaart, James, 159–60
Mellars, Paul, 70, 96–97
Memory, 259n35; semantic, 105, 107–9. See also Autobiographical memory
Memory devices, 90–91, 102
Mesoamerica, 146
Mesopotamia: Assyria and, 196; language of, 166, 169, 269n8; population of, 166; society of, 166; writing of, 166, 169–70, 175
Mesopotamian gods, 166; anthropomorphism of, 172, 175–76; death and, 169–71; Egyptian gods compared to, 177; fertility and, 167–68; kings related to, 170–72; seasons related to, 169; temples for, 167, 172–74; war related to, 174–75
Mesulam, Marcel, 20
Metallurgy, 184–85
Midbrain, 24, 242n1
Middle East, 69
Migration: of animals, 109; of Homo erectus, 39–40; of Homo sapiens, 11–12, 71–73, 87
Minds, 28–29, 129; bicameral, 218. See also Theory of mind
Mirror neurons, 64–65
Mirror self-recognition, 41, 43–45
Mithen, Steven, 27–28, 82, 90, 125
Modern Homo sapiens, 87; arts of, 95–101, 102–3; autobiographical memory of, 104–9, 125–29, 126; fitted clothing of, 71, 89; grave goods of, 92–95, 102–3; human brain of, 125–29, 126; memory devices of, 90–91, 102; self-ornamentation of, 91–92, 102–3; tools of, 88–89; trade networks of, 91–92; weapons of, 88–90
Modern human, 46–48, 47
Modular Brain, The (Restak), 60
Modules, 8–9
Monkeys, 24–25; brains of, 18–19; chimpanzees compared to, 43–44, 49; tools of, 27
Monotheism, 2, 196, 201
Montaign, Michel de, 2
Montesquieu (baron), 176
Mormonism, 211, 222
Moseley, Michael, 193–94, 197–98
Mother Goddess, 159–60
Mounds: burial, 223; platform, xiv, 192–93, 195
MRI. See Magnetic resonance imaging
Mummification, 179–80; in Peru, 193–94
Murdoch, George, 158
Musical instruments, 97, 102, 154, 193
Myelin, 226–27
Nabokov, Vladimir, 114
Nakoda (Stoney) Indians, 232
Natural phenomena, 83
Natural selection, 5–6; human brain and, 16–17
Neandertals (Archaic Homo Sapiens): art by, 95; autobiographical memory and, 108–9; brain size of, 52, 68–69, 84; burials of, 54–55, 92, 94–95; culture of, 53–54; death and, 112; description of, 52–53; geography of, 51–52; gods and, 67; Hominins and, 69, 87; human brain of, 84–86, 85, 129; intentional burials of, 54–55; tools of, 53, 249n5
Needles, 88–89, 102
Neocortex, 24
Neolithic era, 160, 265n24
Neuroimaging studies, 31, 48; on introspective self, 84–86, 85
Neurological theories, 215–17
Neurons, 6, 24, 30, 33, 240n8, 241n12; in brain evolution, 225–26; self-awareness and, 48–50; theory of mind and, 64–65
Neuropsychological Bases of God Beliefs (Persinger), 215
Newberg, Andrew, 216
New World monkeys, 18–19
New Zealand, 118
Nootkan Indians, 233
Norenzayan, Ara, 65
Northern Canada, 234
Occipital area, 7, 7, 10, 14, 30
Ochre, 53–54, 70–71
Oedipal complex, 211
Ojibwa Indians, 118, 139, 232
Old World monkeys, 18–19
Olszewski, Deborah, 145
On the Origin of Species (Darwin), 110–11
Ontogony and Phylogeny (Gould), 37
Opportunistic evolution, 35
Orbital frontal cortex (BA 47), 85, 126, 127, 216
Orbitofrontal region (BA 47), 84, 85, 126, 127
Origin of Consciousness and the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, The (Jaynes), 218
Osiris, 177, 179–80, 182
Other-than-human-persons, 232
Ozymandias, 223
Pakistan, 182; Ahmadiyya in, 222; Aryans in, 196; engineering in, 183; grave goods in, 183–84
Paleolithic period, 89–91, 133, 239n2. See also specific topics
Papua New Guinea, 146, 156–58
Parahippocampal gyrus (BA 35, 36), 126, 127–28
Parallel evolution, 17, 206, 242n18; of agriculture, 145–46; chimpanzees and, 25; examples of, 18–20; metalurgy, 185
Parietal lobe, 33, 215–16; of Homo habilis, 30–31
Parrinder, Geoffrey, 139–40
Passingham, Richard, 79–80
Pattern-seeking theories, 83, 213–14
Patterns in Prehistory (Olszewski and Wenke), 145
Pawnee Indians, 119
Pearson, Mike Parker, 23, 113, 147–50
Pech Merle cave art, 98–99, 103
Persinger, Michael, 215
Peru, xiii–xiv, 146, 154; mummification in, 193–94; pyramids in, 192–93; society of, 192; temple in, 197–98
Petronius, Gaius, 115–16
Phenomenon of Man, The (Teilhard de Chardin), 255n16
Piaget, Jean, 14–15
Picasso, Pablo, 99
Pigs (boars), 144
Pinker, Steven, 80
Placental mammals, 18
Planning, 28; BA 9 and 46 related to, 162, 162–64
Plant domestication, 20; cereals in, 140–42; intentional cultivation in, 141
Plastered skulls, 149–51, 159, 266n37
Platform mounds, xiv, 192–93, 195
Politics, 4
Pollard, Joshua, 188–90
Polytheism, 2, 240n3
Pomo Indians, 231
Population, 198, 205; high gods and, 158–59, 166
Posterior cingulate (BA 23), 85, 85, 128
Posterior superior temporal area (BA 22), 62, 63, 126, 126
Postmortem brains, 12–13
Potassium-argon dating, 11
Potlatch ceremonies, 139
Pottery, 145–46, 184, 187, 191–92, 265n24
Povinelli, Daniel, 15–16, 56–57, 104
Power, 190; from ancestor worship, 155–56
Precision grip, 18–19
Prefrontal cortex, 277n6; agriculture and, 163–64; medial, 46, 63–64, 127, 162; theory of mind and, 60–61. See also Lateral prefrontal cortex
Prehistory of the Mind (Mithen), 90
Premotor cortex (BA 6), 31–33, 32
Preuss, Todd, 33, 163
Primates: baboons, 24–25, 42, 58, 115; brains of, 33; gorillas, 43, 58; monkeys, 18–19, 24–25, 27, 43–44, 49. See also Chimpanzees
Primitive Culture (Tylor), 110–11, 125
Prince, Christopher, 56–57
Principles of Brain Evolution (Striedter), 24, 245n20
Prosocial theories, 208–10, 273n9
Proust, Marcel, 105–6
Psychological theories, 211
Pullum, Geoffrey, 80
Pyramids, xiii–xiv, 187; in Avebury, 188; in Egypt, 179, 194–95; in Peru, 192–93
Queens, 107, 172
Radioactive thorium dating, 11
Radiocarbon dating, 11
Ramachandran, Vilayanur, 215
Rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep, 117
Religion, 222–23; cave art related to, 121–24; definitions of, 123, 207; dreams related to, 117–19; politics and, 4; term use of, xv; understanding of death and, 115–16. See also Major religions
Religion Explained (Boyer), 214, 220
Religious symbols, 77, 83
REM. See Rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep
Remembrance of Things Past (Proust), 105–6
Renfrew, Colin, 185
Restak, Richard, 60
Right temporo-parietal junction (RTPJ), 62–63, 63
Roots of Civilization, The (Marshack), 90
Rose, Michael, 29–30
Rosenberg, Michael, 136
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 2
Roux, George, 172, 176
Royalty, 107, 170–72, 205
RTPJ. See Right temporo-parietal junction
Rūmi, 68
Russia, xiv, 73, 186, 238
Sacrifices, human, 171–72
Sahelanthropus tchadensis, 25
Sakhalin Island, Russia, 238
Sally-Anne test, 56–57, 75
Samoa, 120
Saviors, 201, 222
Schizophrenia, 42–43
Schmidt, Klaus, 135, 137
Schoenemann, Thomas, 79, 241n12
Scotland, 187–88
Sculptures, 97; statues, 151, 159–60, 172, 181. See also Figurines
Seasons, 169
Second-order theory of mind, 75–76, 82
Self-awareness, 205, 247n17; age related to, 44–45; of children, 40–41; of chimpanzees, 43–44; definition of, 41–42; empathy related to, 55–56; of Homo erectus, 42, 45–46, 129; insula and, 46–47, 47; neurons and, 48–50; VENs related to, 48–50
Self-ornamentation, 69, 76; of Homo sapiens, 10, 70–71, 74; of modern Homo sapiens, 91–92, 102–3
Self-recognition, mirror, 41, 43–45
Semantic memory, 105, 109; brain abnormalities and, 107–8
Sewing, 88–89, 102
Shabtis, 181
Shakespeare, William, 203
Shamans, 122, 235, 238
Shamans, Sorcerers, and Saints (Hayden), 122
Shamans of Prehistory, The (Clottes and Lewis-Williams), 122
Shang dynasty, 197
Shariff, Azim, 158–59
Sheep, 143–44
Shell beads, 70–71
Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 51
Shermer, Michael, 214
Shiva, 183
Short-term memory (working memory), 105
Shrines, xiii–xiv, 152–53
Shryock, Andrew, 38
Siberia, 73, 119–20
Sign language, 44
Silbury Hill, England, xiii–xiv, 188
Skull cults, 151–53; display of, 149–50
Skull house, 136–37
Skulls, plastered, 149–51, 159, 266n37
SLF. See Superior longitudinal fasciculus
Smail, Daniel, 17, 38
Smith, Joseph, 211
Social brain hypothesis, 35–36
Social cognition, 84–85
Social grooming, 78–79
Social theories, 206–8
Solstice, 189, 222–23
Sorcerers, 100, 122–23, 262n65
Soul traveling, 238
South Africa, 69, 70–71
Southeastern Europe, 184–85, 197
Spain, 96–97
Spear throwers, 89, 102–3
Spencer, Herbert, 156
Spirits, 230, 240n3; Ba, 179; gods from, 156–58, 165; manitous as, 232–33
Stanley Medical Research Institute, 243n12
Statues, 151, 172, 181; high gods related to, 159–60
Stonehenge, 134, 190, 195; solstice at, 189, 222–23
Stones, 186–87
Stoney (Nakoda) Indians, 232
Striedter, Georg, 24, 245n20
Stringer, Christopher, 61
Suddendorf, Thomas, 110, 259n35
Suffering, 6
Sumer, 269n8, 269n11
Superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), 34, 46, 163
Superior parietal (BA 7), 31–32, 32, 34, 126, 128
Survival, 219–20. See also Death
Swanson, Guy, 158
Swift, Jonathan, 30
Synapses, 277n6
Tallis, Raymond, 45, 112
Taste, 106
Tattersall, Ian, 45, 55, 95, 125
Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre, 77, 82, 255n16
Temples: children and, 173; of Egypt, 177; for Mesopotamian gods, 167, 172–74; in Peru, 197–98
Temporal lobe, 215
Temporal pole (BA 38), 85, 85–86, 256n30
Temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), 62–63, 63, 85
Terminal zones, 7, 32, 163, 227
Terror Management Theory, 116–17
Theories: comfort, 211–13; evolutionary, 3–6; genetic, 217–18; neurological, 215–17; pattern-seeking, 83, 213–14; prosocial, 208–10, 273n9; psychological, 211; social, 206–8
Theory of mind, 250n12; animals and, 57–59; BA 24 and 32 and, 60, 63, 64, 84, 85, 86, 126, 126; belief in gods and, 65–67; children and, 56–57, 74–75, 82; empathy and, 60–61; evolution and, 59; first-order, 56, 75; impairment of, 59–61; insula and, 60, 62–64; mirror neurons related to, 64–65; neurons and, 64–65; prefrontal cortex and, 60–61; second-order, 75–76, 82; TPJ in, 62–63, 63; uncinate fasciculus and, 62
Through the Looking Glass (Carroll), 107
Tiger, Lionel, 212
Tillich, Paul, 113
Time. See Autobiographical memory
Tissues, 12–13, 241n12
Tlingit Indians, 231–32
Tobias, Philip, 29–30, 35
Tools, 10, 48, 69; bone, 70, 88, 102; of Homo erectus, 38–40, 245n3; of Homo habilis, 27–28, 37; of modern Homo sapiens, 88–89; of Neandertals, 53, 249n5
Totem poles, 135–36
Totems, 121–23
Toynbee, Arthur, 196
TPJ. See Temporo-parietal junction
Trade networks, 91–92
Trigger,
Bruce, 182
Tulving, Endel, 259n34
Turgenev, Ivan, 30
Turkey, 136, 152–53, 159–60. See also Göbekli Tepe
Tutankhamun (king), 180–81, 196
Tylor, Edward B., 114, 117–18, 123, 138; on ancestor worship, 140, 156, 204; Darwin and, 110–11, 206; on grave goods, 124–25
Uncinate fasciculus, 14, 15, 46–47; autobiographical memory and, 128; theory of mind and, 62
Understanding, of death: animism and, 114; autobiographical memory and, 110–13; children related to, 114–15; religion and, 115–16; Terror Management Theory and, 116–17
UNESCO World Heritage site, 193
Upper Paleolithic period, 90, 110, 239n2
Uranium dating, 11
Urgesi, Cosimo, 215–16
Utah, 230
Ute Indians, 230
Utnapishtim, 170
Veddahs, 138–39, 236
VENs. See von Economo neurons
Venus figurines, 93, 97, 100
Villages, 148
Virgin birth, 201, 272n76
Visual arts, 19; autobiographical memory and, 120–22. See also Cave art
von Economo, Constantin, 49
von Economo neurons (VENs), 48–50
Wade, Nicholas, 207–8, 219
WAIS. See Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
War, 174–75, 190
Warnings, 234
Water crossing, 73
Wealth, 171–72
Weapons: bow and arrow, 89, 103; of modern Homo sapiens, 88–90; spear throwers, 89, 102–3
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), 31–32
Weil, Eric, 199
Wenke, Robert, 145
Wernicke’s area, 9, 62, 81
Western Europe: Brodgar in, 187–88; cairns in, 186–87; grave goods in, 185–86. See also England
Whales, 30, 44, 49, 225–26
What Mad Pursuit (Crick), 1
Wheeler, Mortimer, 183
White, Randall, 91, 101
White matter connecting tracts, 34, 46–47, 226; in evidence, 13–14, 15; introspective self and, 86; planning and, 163–64
White people, 157
Why Gods Persist (Hinde), 211–12
Willis, Thomas, xiii
Wilson, David Sloan, 207–8
Wine, 141–42, 154
Women: figurines, 93, 97, 100, 159–60; sewing by, 88–89, 102; virgin birth, 201, 272n76
Working memory. See Short-term memory
Wren, Christopher, 239n1
Writing, 191; afterworld in, 181–82; of Egypt, 176–77; gods and, 160–61; of Mesopotamia, 166, 169–70, 175
Xenophanes, 176
Yeats, William Butler, 116
Yoruk Indians, 231
Younger Dryas, 263n2
Zilles, Karl, 48, 227
Zimmer, Carl, 72–74, 239n1
Zoroaster, 201, 272n76
Zoroastrianism, 201, 272n76
Zulu, 118