Alan Barnard is Professor of the Anthropology of Southern Africa at the University of Edinburgh, where he has taught since 1978. He has undertaken ethnographic research with hunter-gatherers in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. He participated in the British Academy Centenary Research Project 'From Lucy to Language: The Archaeology of the Social Brain'. In 2010, he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy, and he serves as an Honorary Consul of the Republic of Namibia. His numerous publications include Social Anthropology and Human Origins (2011) and Genesis of Symbolic Thought (2012), and this volume completes his series on human origins.

'A refreshingly open-minded book on one of the most exciting debates of our time.' Chris Knight, University College London

• 1. Introduction; 2. Population diversity and language diversity; 3. What did prehistoric people do?; 4. How did prehistoric people think?; 5. Narratives of the every-day; 6. Mythological narratives; 7. Sexual selection and language evolution; 8. Conclusions and thoughts for the future.

Alan Barnard is Professor of the Anthropology of Southern Africa at the University of Edinburgh, where he has taught since 1978. He has undertaken ethnographic research with hunter-gatherers in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. He participated in the British Academy Centenary Research Project 'From Lucy to Language: The Archaeology of the Social Brain'. In 2010, he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy, and he serves as an Honorary Consul of the Republic of Namibia. His numerous publications include Social Anthropology and Human Origins (2011) and Genesis of Symbolic Thought (2012), and this volume completes his series on human origins.

'A refreshingly open-minded book on one of the most exciting debates of our time.' Chris Knight, University College London

• 1. Introduction; 2. Population diversity and language diversity; 3. What did prehistoric people do?; 4. How did prehistoric people think?; 5. Narratives of the every-day; 6. Mythological narratives; 7. Sexual selection and language evolution; 8. Conclusions and thoughts for the future.

Alan Barnard is Professor of the Anthropology of Southern Africa at the University of Edinburgh, where he has taught since 1978. He has undertaken ethnographic research with hunter-gatherers in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. He participated in the British Academy Centenary Research Project 'From Lucy to Language: The Archaeology of the Social Brain'. In 2010, he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy, and he serves as an Honorary Consul of the Republic of Namibia. His numerous publications include Social Anthropology and Human Origins (2011) and Genesis of Symbolic Thought (2012), and this volume completes his series on human origins.

'A refreshingly open-minded book on one of the most exciting debates of our time.' Chris Knight, University College London

• 1. Introduction; 2. Population diversity and language diversity; 3. What did prehistoric people do?; 4. How did prehistoric people think?; 5. Narratives of the every-day; 6. Mythological narratives; 7. Sexual selection and language evolution; 8. Conclusions and thoughts for the future.