ORIGINS OF THE MODERN MIND
Three Stages in the Evolution of Culture and Cognition

Merlin Donald

Harvard University Press, 1991

This book asks the ultimate question of the life sciences: How did the human mind acquire its incomparable power? In seeking the answer, Merlin Donald traces the evolution of human culture and cognition from primitive apes to artificial intelligence. Through an interdisciplinary approach, Donald presents an enterprising and original theory of how the human mind evolved from its presymbolic form.