The prehistory of the mind : a search for the origins of art, religion, and science

'An accessible, very well written, provocative and most valuable book' Lewis Wolpert, Observer How do our minds work? When did language and religious beliefs first emerge? Why was there a cultural explosion of art and creativity with the arrival of modern humans? This ground-breaking book brings the insight of archaeology to our understanding of the development and history of the human mind, combining them with ideas from evolutionary psychology in a brilliant and provocative synthesis. Since The 1980s Consensus Opinion Is That The Mind Is Like A Collection Of Specialised Modules Each Tasked For A Specific Purpose. The Author Seeks To Elucidate And Account For This Theory And Explain What It Means To Be Human In This Context. Steven Mithen. Originally Published: Thames And Hudson, C1996. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [310]-348) And Index. This study applies the insights of archaeology to some of the most contentious issues in human evolution. In the 1980s a modular concept of the mind was put forward which sees the mind as a collection of specialized modules. This work seeks to answer the questions raised by this theory.