Evolution of Intelligence

One of the preferred definitions by Dr Jenny Taylor, a clinical physiologist is that “intelligence is the ability for the organism to adapt itself to the environment in which it finds itself.” This is an extremely broad expression which could be applied to any living thing.

One of the main reasons why we are so interested in the other primates is that by looking at them we can obtain some ideas of what our ancestor must have been like a few millions years ago. Even though, we are not descended from any modern-type monkey or ape, our lineage does appear to have gone through stages in which we were a medium-sized, reasonably intelligent creature with good binocular vision, hands that were good at manipulation and the ability to climb trees. An evolutionary trend in primates involves the development of offspring both before and after birth and their integration into complex social systems. Another trend in primate evolution has been toward a more elaborate brain. In addition to brain size and gestation periods,

The first instrument dated back 40,000 years where early humans made a bone flute, since then, humans have made hundreds of instruments, including trumpets, violins, pianos and many more. As instruments progressed, so did the skill level of the musicians, however, with this

Originating in Africa, the history of early human beings can be traced to nearly 1.9 million years ago with the species Homo erectus; which were described to have a large body, a thick skull, a strong jaw, and 725 cubic centimeters of brain capacity. However,

In this intelligence, it is the ability to understand oneself. You have to appreciate one’s feelings, fears and motivations. I also believe that just about everyone has this intelligence. If not then we would be a complete

The process of natural selection, and the succession of the mutation are very slow, and occurs over hundreds of years. Intellectual evolution, instead is much quicker. When ideas are evolving, they are transformed from existing knowledge and prejudices of the community, through the invention and the discoveries of individuals thanks to technological advances as well as the basis of already existing knowledge; ideas become

Intelligence is a hard concept to define. The Oxford dictionary defined intelligence as “the ability to acquire knowledge and skills”. This loosely defined topic has caused great debate in psychological studies. People argue whether intelligence is measured as one general ability or a variety of abilities including aptitudes, skills, and talents. Others may debate over whether a single topic of intelligence actually exists. As a result of this controversy, researchers have proposed definitions of their own called theories. This has created a variety of ___ theories to be evaluated.

Who: Provided with the remarkable intelligence to survive in a world that was gradually growing colder the Homosapiens built weapons and made clothing while adapted to their environment during the age known as the paleolithic era. Or also known as the Stone age. These Homosapiens would begin to speak and work together to accomplish specific goals and or challenges that life threw at them. Such as taking down Humongous animals with the weapons they made out of stone.

Intelligence is acquired in many different ways. It describes the ability of someone's way of thinking, planning, learning, and understanding problems and situations that may appear in one's life. As we grow up, we start to ask ourselves how intelligence affects our way of birth and as well as in our daily lives. Questions and curiosity will always knock our innocent minds.

Humans have been on earth for five to seven million years. About the same time as human like apes first to walk on two legs. 2.5 years later they began to make to stone tools. Half a million years later they started moving to new places like Asia and Europe. But not all of our ancestors left Africa. The ones that stayed in Africa 130,000 years later had the brain the size of modern day humans. The question still remains when, where, and how they became functional humans. ''It's the hot issue, and we all have different positions,'' said Dr. John E. Yellen. Archaeologists think that humans started acting like modern humans about 40,000 years ago. Their theory is based off of when they found magnificent cave. Some archaeologists think that this

Music was discovered in 4,000BCE. The first instruments were percussion instruments, such as drums. Later on the Egyptians created the harp and flute.

There is a strong relationship between human material culture and the development of human cognitive abilities. Around the 2.0 Ma period there was a widespread of evolutionary change across a vast range of mammals (Foley, R. and Gamble, C. 2009), one of the largest factors contributing to the growth of cognitive abilities is a larger brain size (Delagnes, A.and Roche, H. 2004). A larger brain allowed for humans to expand their thinking which enhanced their lives. A significant step in the history of humans and technology is when they started using tools (Wynn. T. 2009). "The enhanced working memory that appears to have accompanied the evolution of modern humans enabled much higher levels of innovation, thought experiment, and narrative complexity" (Wynn, T. and Coolidge, F.L. 2004). The changes in human cognitives abilities can be reflected by changes in human material culture.

Humans have a talent: they have the unique ability to manipulate almost anything organic to make it more consumable. This started when the first humans used crude stone cutting tools to cut meat off the bone of their prey (Larsen 2017). Many anthropologists recognize this ability as an extreme step in our cognitive evolution (Larsen 2017). Researchers agree that humans were hunter-gatherers at one point, but how did our brains develop the intellectual capacity for creating tools and utilizing our environment to eat more nutrient-rich food? Theories exist that meat-eating and use of fire for cooking helped expand our brains (Larsen 2017). However, what did humans eat before all of that? What nutrients allowed us to develop the skills for using fire and tools to our advantage? Many studies point towards a dietary factor of foods that are rich in fatty acids such as DHA and AA contributing to a jumpstart in our cognitive evolution without requiring a higher-level skill set (Allen 2010). Even though just like fish and shellfish, terrestrial animals provided protein and the fatty acid AA that could have contributed to human cognitive evolution, the jumpstart to our cognitive evolution was likely caused by a dietary factor of aquatic life (Allen 2010). This is because gathering aquatic life did not require any significant technological advancements, hunting for fish and shellfish was easier than competing with predators for terrestrial prey, and aquatic life, including fish and shellfish, is high in fatty acids that support essential components of developing mammalian nervous systems (Brenna and Carlson, 2014:99).

Traditionally, one might begin such a paper with a firm definition of “What is intelligence?” but given the cosmic grandeur of what intelligence means--this is proving rather difficult. Evolution and Intelligence span all disciplines (anthropology; biological; physiological, psychological; developmental etc.…) and thus means something different to each. What I can tell you is that each definition gives thought to one basic idea: Intelligence is the all-encompassing word used to define

What does it mean to be intelligent? Refer back to the bare and simplistic definition, “the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations.” Ability, ability to do something, anything creates intelligence within an individual. Each person is unique and holds personal characteristics; everyone is intelligent to