Sapiens
We are the underdogs, many other predators have had millions of years of improvement, majestic.
Hard to have both intestines and brains as they take lots of energy, fire help optimize this. Fire was strong leverage against other animals.
Are we a product of inter-breeding (homosapiens vs other Neanderthals?) Or was it more a geonocide. DNA testing shows some inter-breeding. Could be cleansing, could have ran out of resources, etc. Interesting. What if they still lived now?
Around 70k years ago we started winning for the previous 30k we lost quite a bit vs the Neanderthals. What was different about our language? Was it gossip-theory, the mental capability to talk behind peoples backs is enourmous. Myths help align us (religion). 150 is the size of a “gossip group”. A company is ‘legal fiction’, can pay taxes but isn’t a thing, LLC (or Corporation) is a great invention, same with joint-stock-options.
Imagined realities are not lies. Everyone believes in. Dual reality, the real physical reality, and the imagine reality becomes stronger (actually now sustains the physical, vs wildlife reserves). Allows for really quick evolutions in our social contracts or behaviors. Do stories that are passed down allow us to iterate faster than DNA being passed down?Trade is based on Imagined Realities. IR became Culture, culture became history. In small groups were similar to chimps. Tools are no use unless we can collaborate, more complex the tool the more collaboration (nuclear warheads are 1000s). Fiction and myths allows us to levels these up.
6-70k+ years ago. Ancient hunter gathers were much more diverse, eating many things, being a master of their domain. Religion and political structure is murky for these humans. Have we been the same level of violent (5% back then and same in 2000’s, bands being genocide). Isolated in AfroAsian. Indonesians ‘evolved’ boats, went to Australia, sapiens extinct most flora there - we’re ecological serial killers, mammoths, etc.