Human evolution and the cognitive basis of science

Abstract

The capacity for science is likely to have a biological basis that evolved in a piecemeal fashion during the course of human evolution. By examining the anatomy and activities of human ancestors from the earliest Homo at 2.5 mya to anatomically modern humans engaged in farming at 8,000 BP, this chapter attempts to identify when, and in which order, several of the key facets of scientific practice emerged. While it recognizes that to emerge as a recognizable entity science required a particular suite of social and economic circumstances, that emergence can be fully understood only by examining both the abilities and the constraints of the evolved human mind.