Why do we tell stories? Hunter-gatherers shed light on the evolutionary roots of fiction
Daniel Smiththeconversation.com
Why do we tell stories? Hunter-gatherers shed light on the evolutionary roots of fiction
conducting a literature search of 89 different stories told by seven different forager cultures in Thailand, Malaysia, Africa and elsewhere. All of the tales carried lessons about social cooperation, empathy and justice, and many taught sexual equality
Jeffrey Kluger • How Telling Stories Makes Us Human
It’s testament to the powers of the storytelling brain that many psychologists argue that human language evolved in the first place in order to tell tales about each other.
Will Storr • The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better
Stories and folktales are what bind us together as a community. They tell us who we are and why we have obligations towards each other.
Robin Dunbar • Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships
Storytelling is a primal instinct (people have been telling stories much, much longer than they’ve been reading or writing about them)