Cognitive Revolution & Out of Africa
A leap in cognitive ability coincides with the great migration out of Africa, beginning the colonization of the entire world.
Explore this event on the interactive timeline →Something shifted in human cognition around 70,000 years ago — possibly linked to language development — enabling complex social structures, art, and long-range planning. Small bands began migrating out of Africa.
Perspective
Yuval Harari calls this the "Cognitive Revolution" and I think the framing is useful even if debated. The ability to believe in shared fictions — gods, nations, money — is what made us dominant. It's our superpower and our curse.