The Evolution of Imagination: An Archaeological Perspective

Introduction

The imagination is one of those critical faculties of the human mind that defies adequate definition. To describe it as “creative, conscious, thought,” is inadequate, because each of these building blocks remains fuzzy. One might argue that definitions are unnecessary because we have an intuitive understanding of this phenomenon, and can safely assume that all other people (barring those with cognitive pathologies) engage in the same types of mental activity that we consider to be imagination.

A definition becomes necessary, however, when we wish to examine how and when this remarkable ability of the human mind evolved. While we cannot doubt that all living members of our species have a capacity for imagination, and hence this is in some manner part of our genetic makeup, we can be equally confident that other species lack this capacity. Although I appreciate that some entomologists and ichthyologists may disagree, neither insects nor fish are likely to possess imagination, except when this is defined in the most minimalistic terms.