ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that ritual made us human, and it is because of ritual that we (and not some other hominin) are Earth’s dominant species. The argument rests on the following propositions: (1) Humans are unique in their cooperative abilities (more clearly so than our rational abilities). (2) Cooperative communities are constructed using costly rituals. (3) Supernatural belief provided the motivation and the individual fitness advantage necessary for humans to engage in costly rituals. And (4) archaeological evidence indicates that Homo sapiens engaged in higher-cost ritual activity than other hominins (specifically, Neanderthals). It was the communal cooperative advantage, constructed using costly rituals, that gave Homo sapiens the decisive edge over other hominins as they spread across the globe.
