Table Of ContentCognitive Evolution
Cognitive Evolution provides an in-d epth exploration of the history and development of
cognition, from the beginning of life on Earth to present- day humans. Drawing together
evolutionary and comparative research, this book presents a unique perspective on the
evolution of human cognition. Adopting an information processing perspective – that
is, from inputs to outputs – with all the mental processes in between, Boles provides a
systematic overview of the evolutionary development of cognition and of its sensation,
movement, and perception components.
The book is supported by long- established evolutionary theories and backed up by
a wealth of recent research from the growing field of cognitive evolution and cognitive
neuroscience to provide a comprehensive text on the subject.
Cognitive Evolution is an essential read for advanced undergraduates and postgraduate
students of cognitive and evolutionary psychology.
David B. Boles is Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.
“Connecting the great advances in cognitive science to their roots in human evolution
must be one the greatest missed opportunities in the current psychology curriculum.
Cognitive Evolution traces pattern recognition, memory, language and consciousness
across species. For example, who knew that for pigeons the duration of immediate
memory was two to six seconds, for monkeys ten to twenty, and for humans twenty to
sixty seconds. This book is full of insights into what is already known and what is yet to
be studied. I highly recommend it.”
— Michael Posner, Prof. Emeritus, University of Oregon, USA
“This book combines a basic short course in biological evolution with an extended
treatment of primate evolution emphasizing fossil and living hominids, their anatomy,
habits and cognitive capabilities. Rich in detail, engagingly written and well illustrated,
this volume is an excellent resource for upper level undergraduates and graduate students
in the cognitive sciences. It serves also as a reminder of how even seemingly simple
cognitive tasks depend on a brain architecture and circuitry of immense complexity with
a deep evolutionary heritage.”
— Dr. Thurston Lacalli, Biology Department, University of Victoria, Canada
Cognitive Evolution
David B. Boles
First edition published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 David B. Boles
The right of David B. Boles to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Boles, David B. (Writer on psychology) author.
Title: Cognitive evolution / David B. Boles.
Description: 1 Edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2019. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018060196 (print) | LCCN 2018061333 (ebook) | ISBN
9780429028038 (eBook) | ISBN 9780367028541 (hardback) | ISBN
9780367028558 (pbk.) | ISBN 9780429028038 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Cognition.
Classification: LCC BF311 (ebook) | LCC BF311 .B585 2019 (print) |
DDC 155.7—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018060196
ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 02854- 1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 02855- 8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978- 0- 429- 02803- 8 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Visit the eResources: www.routledge.com/9780367028558
Cover source: File:La cueva de las manos Santa Cruz.jpg, CC BY-SA 4.0, CarlosA.Barrio.
For Joan, Walter, and Madeline.
by Madeline Boles, age 6, published with permission
Contents
List of figures ix
List of tables xiii
List of boxes xiv
Introduction 1
SECTION I
Introduction to evolution 5
1 Life begins 7
2 Life gets complicated 19
3 Vertebrates to early mammals 29
4 Later mammals through primates 41
5 Humans 62
SECTION II
Sensation and movement 89
6 The mechanical and chemical senses 91
7 Vision 108
8 The origins of motion 124
9 Bipedalism 136
viii Contents
SECTION III
Perception and cognition 149
10 Praxis and handedness 151
11 Tools and planning 168
12 Spatial perception 190
13 Pattern recognition 209
14 Memory 223
15 Language 239
16 Consciousness 260
17 A summary in nine firsts 275
Glossary 284
References 295
Additional picture credits 340
Index 341
Figures
1.1 The structure of RNA and DNA 8
1.2 Evidence for life on Mars? Some have claimed that this 380- nanometer
object is a fossilized bacterium 11
1.3 Stromatolites in Western Australia 14
2.1 Example of a linear clock using two calibration points (Old World
monkeys and orangutans) to estimate the divergence times of gorillas
and chimpanzees from the human ancestral line, based on genetic
differences 22
2.2 The eukaryote tree of life, showing some commonly known plant and
animal groups. Origin at top left, progressing to existing phyla on the
right. Note that the bracket widths are not meant to directly reflect
time from a common origin 26
3.1 Fossil of Myllokunmingia fengjiaoa, a probable early vertebrate 30
3.2 A reconstruction of Tiktaalik 32
3.3 The transition from fish (bottom left) to tetrapods (upper right), with
Tiktaalik in a transitional role. A lobe- finned coelacanth fish is also
shown for comparison 33
3.4 Top to bottom: Anapsid (no- holed), Synapsid (one- holed), and Diapsid
(two- holed) skulls 35
3.5 Amniote, synapsid, and diapsid relationships. Lines reaching fully to
the right are living taxa 36
3.6 Eomaia, a 125- million- year- old eutherian from China 39
4.1 Carpolestes simpsoni 42
4.2 Cladogram illustrating early branching of the primates. Earlier splits
are to the lower left; later ones to the upper right 43
4.3 Ring- tailed lemur 44
4.4 Northern greater galago 44
4.5 Tarsier 45
4.6 First related group of New World monkeys: Common marmoset 48
4.7 First related group of New World monkeys: Emperor tamarin 48
4.8 Second related group of New World monkeys: Capuchin monkey 49
4.9 Second related group of New World monkeys: Common squirrel
monkey 49
4.10 Third group of New World monkeys: Ornate spider monkey 50
4.11 Third group of New World monkeys: Black howler monkey 50
4.12 Aegyptopithecus skull at the University of Zurich 51
4.13 Rhesus macaque 52
4.14 Guinea baboon 53
