PROMOTING POTENTIAL 311Early in human evolution, such social engagement was prob ably the
norm. Humans prob ably developed with a shared conception of the aims
and activities of the group as a whole, enjoying its institutions and the
shared view of the world. Th is is the cognitive “binding” described in
chapter 9. Fossil evidence from early Homo sites suggests living in small
bands, perhaps in sporadic co ali tions with other groups.
Th ere are a few remnants of such hunter- gatherer groups in fringe ar-
eas of Africa and South Amer i ca and one or two other places. Th ey are
considered to be the closest we have to the form of human existence for
at least 95 percent of our history. Th eir psychological and social makeup
is very in ter est ing, displaying little rank diff erentiation, with equitable
sharing of resources and little personal property.
A writer in Science referred to such socie ties as “our egalitarian Eden.”
In his blog on Psy chol ogy Today (May 16, 2011), Peter Gray says, “Wherever
they were found—in Africa, Asia, South Amer i ca, or elsewhere; in deserts
or in jungles— these socie ties had many characteristics in common. Th e
people lived in small bands, of about 20 to 50 persons (including children)
per band, who moved from camp to camp within a relatively circum-
scribed area to follow the available game and edible vegetation. Th e people
had friends and relatives in neighboring bands and maintained peaceful
relationships with neighboring bands. Warfare was unknown to most of
these socie ties, and where it was known it was the result of interactions
with warlike groups of people who were not hunter- gatherers.”
Of course, we must not get too romantic about information that is
skimpy, easily distorted, and far removed from modern circumstances
(nor fall into the warm glow of a Rousseau- esque view of the “noble sav-
age”). Th e observations do suggest, though, the cognitive and social ben-
efi ts of equal participation in the environmental and social structures.
As always, those original hunter- gatherer structures changed. Popula-
tions expanded, and early humans extended their co ali tion structures ever
more widely. Small bands became wider co ali tions, and then agrarian
“cities,” with divisions of labor, then nations and global trading networks.
Such cultural inventiveness has been highly benefi cial and technologically
creative for humanity generally. But it was at the cost of dividing popu-
lations into social classes and introducing imbalances of power.
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