The Roots of Human Genius Are Deeper Than Expected

The Roots of Human Genius Are Deeper Than Expected

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When in our evolution did we humans become so clever, so creative, so boundlessly ingenious? Writer Heather Pringle tackles exactly this question in the cover story of the March issue of Scientific American. The answer, in a nutshell, is rather earlier than scientists traditionally thought, which itself raises all sorts of questions about what factors kindled our ancestors’ cognitive prowess. Pringle marshals considerable evidence of surprisingly ancient innovation—from sophisticated tools to spectacular works of art—to make her case.