THE EVOLUTIONARY VIEW OF

COGNITION: THE HUMAN SPARK

Chase Cotman

Professor Mark Faust

ITCS 3216
Introduction
We as human beings have always pondered the thought of evolution and how we even

had the ability to evolve and adapt the way we have. As we venture through the different

programs we begin to unravel the many different questions and issues that involve the

discovery of how the human spark came along. When we think about how exactly we as homo-

sapiens were founded we go back to our cousins, the Neanderthals, but what is questionable

about them is that they chose to not adapt like we do. Next we go and try to figure out the

issue behind what made us as human beings become so advanced when compared to our close

relative, the chimpanzee. Lastly, we get to dive into the human brain as well as other animal

brains. We have the issue of are there any differences between the brains as well as how

exactly does the brain work in different contexts.

Program One: Becoming Us

The Neanderthals were a group of people who originally resided mainly in Africa. These

people were able to create different tools and technologies that helped them in their society

for things like trade and hunting. However, when looking at our cousins there is a huge

difference between ourselves and the Neanderthals. Although they were very successful they

never adapted or tried to innovate any further from their technologies. This hints that for some

reason the Neanderthals never got the human spark like us. According to the video, there

have been many archeologists that have discovered many artifacts and remains left behind

from the Neanderthals. Upon discovering some remains of the Neanderthals, an archeologist

found the skull of a Neanderthal child. When comparing the skulls development and growth

process we find that there is a huge difference between the skull of a Neanderthal child and a
skull of a homo-sapiens child. When comparing the brain and its growth process between the

two, the homo-sapiens had more time to grow and develop the brain. With this growth and

development also comes different experiences and environments, for example children are

able to test relationships and boundaries with their parents. When looking at how the

Neanderthal brain was developed it is the complete opposite. In addition to this their

environment were completely different from ours, which could have affected this process.

Since they never really had any type of experimentation they were most likely forced to grow

up quick, hence the reason as to why the Neanderthals as a whole may have not gotten the

human spark.

Program Two: So Human, So Chimp

Besides our distant cousins, the Neanderthals, we have a close relative that we share a

bit of a connection with, which is the chimpanzee. When it comes to things like behavior we

have discovered through experiments and observations done on both the chimpanzees and

homo-sapiens we are very similar in some aspects. For example, as shown in Human Spark

video inside the North Carolina Zoo, one similarity that we can see between the chimps and

human beings is the political system that they hold amongst themselves. In the observation we

see the chimps are given 2 watermelon and the leaders take the watermelon for themselves.

They have to dispute between each other whether or not to share the watermelon with

everyone. This scenario can be compared with humans when we make important decisions. In

addition, we have to take into consideration that the chimps did not gain the human spark as

we did, therefore they have similar behaviors and brain activities as we do, but it is very limited.
Although the chimpanzees are our closest relatives we do share some differences. When

comparing the brain and cognitive process between the human and chimp they have some

similarities and differences. We as humans (homo-sapiens) are able to bridge how things work

and what they exactly mean. Our relatives, the chimps, however are not capable of doing the

same for themselves. We can see this problem arise for them from the weighted object

experiment. When shown between two objects which is heavier the chimps ran over 800+ trials

versus the average human childs 1 trial. This is evidence that chimps can make conceptual

representations, but they cannot make any reflections on these particular concepts nor reason

about abstract ideas like humans can. One characteristic however, that was found in both

humans and chimps was the necessity to help someone in need. Lastly, there is one other

difference that could potentially be the main reason as to why the chimps were not able to

achieve the human spark. Chimps do not have the ability to read, write, or talk which are

considered to be our basic social skills. Without these social skills the chimps practically fall

within the same category as our cousins, the Neanderthals.

Program Three: Brain Matters

The brain is considered to be an important part of the huge link to the human spark and

where it originates. When observing the brain and its structure it can seem similar to a

computer network in the sense that you have many wires throughout the brain passing

information. With this in mind, the average human brain may look the same from a surface

perspective, but it is completely different when looking inside. From the surface as well as the

inside of the brain is where we do our actual processing. As we observe, interact with things, or
even remain idle certain parts of the brain are responding. Like in the example from the video,

as we are shown different scenarios or pictures, certain parts of our brain will react a certain

way. This alone sets us apart from other animals. The closest animal with a brain most similar to

ours is the chimpanzee. The structure of both brains are very similar, however the size between

the two are different. This could be possible due to social reasons. By humans being able to

read, write, and talk it could have made our brains grow bigger as well as give us a chance to

change and adapt. Looking at the evidence I do believe that the brain is where the human spark

originated. Observing the experiment with the children placing the toy in the bucket, without

talking (language), the objective for the kids would not have been completed without the ability

to talk.

Summary

In conclusion, we as humans have definitely come a long way when compared to our

cousin, the Neanderthal. One of the main questions/issues that everyone within the video

asked was where exactly did the human spark originate and why is it that we (homo-sapiens)

were able to achieve the human spark, while our cousin, and close relative, the chimp, did not.

When it comes down to it, it seems to have been determined by a persons environment as well

as their actual social skills. For us we were able to be successful and become innovative due to

these simple social skills that we use in our everyday lives. The Neanderthals were a typical

species that had a system that worked for them and was very successful for them. It makes

sense as to the reason why the human spark never occurred for them just for that purpose. In

addition, the chimpanzees and Neanderthals both share the language problem which also could
have hindered the process of the human spark as well. The human spark in the end is just

something that we are able to have, because we have the ability to think about things not only

in the present, but also plan out how things will happen in the distant future as well as think

about what others are thinking.

References

Alda, A. (2009). Human Spark. Three part video series. PBS