Cognitive niche construction in human evolution from object play to the art creation

Abstract

In human evolution, cognitive niche construction has been a focus of much attention. This interest stems from how our behavior has accelerated the development of human cognitive functions, thereby leading to brain growth and further cultural evolution. Many studies have demonstrated similarities between the cognitive bases of stone tool production and language. However, how art, a typical modern human behavior, is related to these behaviors remains unclear. A comparative study of the drawings of human children and chimpanzees, our closest living relatives, suggested that the latter have differences in the visual imagination of pareidolia, which may be related to language acquisition and the origin of art. However, some examples exist of chimpanzees’ imagination through representational play via manipulating objects. In this study, we consider the phylogenetic development of object play, tool use, toolmaking, language, and art in the process of human evolution from the perspective of cognitive niche construction with examples of chimpanzee representational play.