Fossilized consciousness

What is consciousness? Is it something exclusive to human beings or something shared with other animals? At what point can we speak of the appearance of conscious life? These and other questions are addressed here, although we do not intend to give a definitive answer, at least we will shed more light on everything that makes us human. Darwin did not take long to realize the great similarity we share with other animals, but a major drawback arose: consciousness does not leave a fossil record. How then can we study it? Through the practices that derive from it, such as the burial of our loved ones or the use of a whole lithic industry. Also the use of ornaments and trousseaus leave us a small clue, just as it happens with Paleolithic art or our own bone armor, which sooner or later we get rid of. In order to investigate all this, the subject has been dealt with from an interdisciplinary point of view, drawing on various fields such as philosophy, anthropology, ethology or linguistics, which undoubtedly allow us to offer a better interpretation of such an intricate subject.