Ancient Campfires Led To the Rise of Storytelling

sciencehabit writes A study of evening campfire conversations by the Ju/'hoan people of Namibia and Botswana suggests that by extending the day, fire allowed people to unleash their imaginations and tell stories, rather than merely focus on mundane topics. As scientists report, whereas daytime talk was focused almost entirely on economic issues, land rights, and complaints about other people, 81% of the firelight conversation was devoted to telling stories, including tales about people from other Ju/'hoan communities. The team suggests that campfires allowed human ancestors to expand their minds in a similar way and also solidified social networks.

Comments

The campfire gave rise to two things

[msobkow]

The campfire gave rise to two things that permeate human society: religion and ghost stories.

Unfortunately, both are about equally grounded in reality and truth.

And fish are good swimmers

[flu1d]

Thanks for the update!