COVER: ELENA BANSH THIS PAGE: BBC/NASA, GETTY IMAGES, ALAMY, ELENA RESKO, ROBERT ORMEROD
One theory that accounts for why our brains got so big suggests that our intelligence is a byproduct of becoming social animals. The more of us there were, huddled around the fire, the greater our chances of survival. More hands meant more food, which gave us the nutrients to grow even more grey matter. The brainiest would learn the most from others and pass their learnings on to their young, giving them a better chance of survival. And so, our heads got bigger and bigger.
Or to put it another way, back in the days of cavepeople, being able to tell who was Ugg and who was Ogg, was useful (especially if you knew that Ugg would share what she’d hunted and gathered if you checked her for nits).