One of the primary features of culture is thatit is symbolic. The use of symbols is a distinguishing characteristic of modern humans. In his book Lone Survivors: How We Came to be the Only Humans on Earth, Chris Stringer writes:
“We use symbols in so many ways today that they are a part of our lives, taken for granted, but without which we could hardly function.”
A symbol is, of course, simply something that stands for something else. A caution at this point: there is not necessarily a direct connection between the symbol and its meaning, and the form of the symbol is generally arbitrary. In their book Language in Thought and Action, S.I Hayakawa and Alan R. Hayakawa write:
“Human beings, because they understand certain things to stand for other things, have developed what we shall term the symbolic process.”
The use of symbols is a product of the mind, of the way the brain works in interpreting sensory inputs regarding the physical world. One of the earliest forms of symbolic thinking, and one which probably preceded the evolution of language, was an ability to read and use “natural signs” such as animal tracks. These “natural signs” are a type of proto-symbolism. In his chapter in Darwinian Archaeologies, Steven Mithen writes:
“A possible context is the use of ‘natural signs’ in subsistence activity, epitomized by the use of animal marks in hunting behavior. An ability to read meaning into such signs concerning animal behavior would increase foraging efficiency and give the unique symbol-reading (though not necessarily creating) individual a selective advantage.”
Steven Mithen also reports:
“Modern humans, and most notably those who live by hunting and gathering, are dependent on the use of such natural signs in their environment. These involve not only signs such as hoofprints but also marks left on vegetation and marks left on the ground by sleeping, rolling, and defecating.”
In communicating the meaning of these “natural signs” to others, humans needed to develop additional symbols, perhaps hand gestures or sounds.
In the human cognitive system, a symbol has meaning which is not innate to either the symbol or to the human brain. The meaning of the symbol is cultural. British philosopher A.C. Grayling, in his book Life, Sex and Ideas: The Good Life Without God, writes:
“A symbol is a token which carries meaning, often an entire world of meaning, not necessarily because it resembles or portrays the thing symbolised, but because of the associations it raises in the mind of anyone who grasps its conventional significance.”
What is symbolic in one culture may have no symbolic meaning in another, or it may have a totally different meaning in another culture.
The two most evident symbolic actions of humans are seen in language and religion, both of which are primarily symbol systems. S.I Hayakawa and Alan R. Hayakawa write:
“Of all forms of symbolism, language is the most highly developed, most subtle, and most complicated.”
In his book The Strange Case of the Rickety Cossack and Other Cautionary Tales from Human Evolution, Ian Tattersall writes:
“Like symbolic thought, language involves mentally creating symbols and reshuffling them according to rules; so close are these two things that it is virtually impossible for us today to imagine one in the absence of the other. What is more, it is relatively easy to envisage, at least in principle, how the spontaneous invention of language in some form could have started those symbols chasing around early modern human minds in a structured way.”
With regard to the symbolic foundation of language, Genevieve von Petzinger, in her book The First Signs: Unlocking the Mysteries of the World’s Oldest Symbols, writes:
“The individual sounds made within a language are basically a collection of symbols that have developed agreed-upon meanings. They exist within a system of communication that has definite rules and organization but which is flexible and open.”
As a symbol system, religion utilizes not only language, but also the symbolic forms of behavior known as rituals or ceremonies. This form of symbolism can take the form of individual actions such as a series of hand gestures performed by some Catholics when they encounter a dead body, to group actions in which a large number of Muslims face Mecca several times a day and go through a prescribed series of body movements in unison. Rites such as these, whether performed individually or in a group, symbolize a belief system, a way of interpreting and understanding the world. In his book Structure and Function in Primitive Society, social anthropologist A.R. Radcliffe-Brown writes:
“Rites can be seen to be the regulated symbolic expression of certain sentiments.”
A.R. Radcliffe-Brown goes on to say:
“The social function of the rites is obvious; by giving solemn and collective expression to them the rites reaffirm, renew and strengthen those sentiments on which the social solidarity depends.”
The symbolism of religious rites is also a way of transmitting and reinforcing cultural or group knowledge, including history and ways of behaving. Regular symbolic rites also keep the information in the present and incorporate this knowledge into daily life.
Art is also a symbol system and the presence of art in ancient sites is often seen as evidence for language and religion. In a chapter in Indian Art Traditions of the Northwest Coast, Roy Carlson writes:
“Symbolic meaning is actually a form of communication in which form tells the viewer something more than that it is long and narrow or short and oval, something more specific than a universal reaction, something which relates to a system or sub-system of the culture from which stemmed this thing we classify as art.”
Symbolism, however, is also an important part of material culture and social organization as well. With regard to material culture, S.I Hayakawa and Alan R. Hayakawa write:
“Food, too, is highly symbolic. Religious dietary regulations such as those of the Catholics, Jews, Moslems and Hindus are observed in order to symbolize adherence to one’s religion.”
Archaeologists often infer the presence of religion based on what they consider to be symbolic artifacts, including things like figurines.
In looking for evidence of symbolism among ancient humans, Ian Tattersall cautions:
“…it is important to remember that looking for evidence of symbolic behaviors is entirely different from looking for evidence of complex behaviors, because the immediate precursors of Homo sapiens also indulged in some extremely complex activities, such as making and hafting sophisticated stone tools.”
When did humans develop symbolic thinking and symbolic behaviors? In The Dawn of Human Culture, Richard Klein with Blake Edgar write:
“Within the grand scope of human evolution, symbolic behavior was a very recent innovation. Once symbols appear in the archaeological record, as enigmatic geometric designs, as human or animal figurines carved in ivory, or as beads and other ornaments, we know we’re dealing with people like us: people with advanced cognitive skills who could not only invent sophisticated tools and weapons and develop complex social networks for mutual security, but could also marvel at the intricacies of nature and their place in it; people who were self-aware.”
Ian Tattersall reports:
“There is a lot of other evidence that the unique human way of viewing the world, and of manipulating information about it, was actively emerging in the African continent after about 100,000 years ago. Before that time, unequivocal evidence for symbolic behaviors is rare or lacking in the record; after it, such evidence rapidly accumulates.”
Symbolic thinking was the result of evolution by natural selection and, therefore, it evolved from earlier brain structures and ways of thinking. Ian Tattersall describes it this way:
“Given that evolution always has to build on what was there before, it seems reasonable to conclude that modern humans achieved their cognitive uniqueness by grafting the symbolic faculty onto a preexisting high intelligence of the ancestral intuitive kind—possibly exemplified by that of H. neanderthalensis—rather than by replacing that older style of intelligence wholesale.”
In his book Atheism and the Case Against Christ, Matthew McCormick writes:
“Natural selection kludges together solutions to problems with whatever genetic features happen to become available in a population. The results only need to be good enough to bestow some small survival advantage.”
In his book A Natural History of Human Thinking, Michael Tomasello reminds us:
“Cognitive processes are a product of natural selection, but they are not its target.”
The evolution of symbolic cognition set the stage for the development of language and religion. In other words, the neural ability had to be in place prior to language and religion.
More Human Origins
Human Origins: Domesticating Fire
Human Origins: Menopause
Human Origins: The Great Chain of Being
Human Origins: The Mind
Human Origins: Cannibalism
Human Origins: Bipedalism
Human Origins: Cultural Evolution
Human Origins: The Large Brain