Ten Nodes of Symbolizing Humanity: From the First Hominin to the Neolithic

Ten Nodes of Symbolizing Humanity applies a scientific model of logarithmic time to human cultural evolution, charting how symbolic capacity unfolded in distinct, accelerating stages over the last 8 million years. Beginning with the first hominins and culminating near the rise of civilization, this work identifies ten major nodes of symbolic emergence—from habitual bipedalism and the earliest stone tools to abstract image-making and burial of the dead. Each node is supported by archaeological and paleontological evidence and interpreted through a framework of logarithmic halving, revealing a patterned pulse of cultural and cognitive breakthroughs. This study proposes that symbolic behavior evolved in tandem with biological change and was central to the human lineage. Bridging anthropology, evolutionary theory, and systems modeling, this work invites renewed scientific inquiry into the rhythmic structure of human evolution.