Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods: Early Humans and the Origins of Religion

Medical researcher Torrey (American Psychosis) combines aspects of neuroscience, archeology, anthropology, and religious studies to offer an evolutionary answer to the question that frames his latest book: “Where did the gods come from?” He contends that five distinct developmental advances occurred over the two-million-year history of the hominin line, stretching back to Homo habilis, and culminating in the development of “autobiographical memory” (the ability to “project ourselves backwards and forwards in time”) in Homo sapiens approximately 40,000 years ago. That feature provided the capacity for individuals to conceive of the concept of god. But, Torrey argues, more was needed for the concept of a deity to be fully formed in the early human mind. That added ingredient arose during the agricultural revolution, which occurred between 7,000 and 11,000 years ago and led to the domestication of plants and animals as well as “the domestication of ancestor spirits”—the immediate precursor to the gods. Torrey ends each chapter with documentation of the changes in brain structure and function that accompanied the evolution of modern humans, all presented in a manner that is accessible to nonscientists. He concludes his insightful, thought-provoking work by providing a short but comprehensive summary of alternative hypotheses that have been advanced for the origin of gods. (Sept.)