We now know that the people of around 40,000 years ago that are commonly known as Cro-Magnon were, genetically, human. Yet we know relatively little about their culture.
We have learned from the physical record that they buried their dead, that they practiced decorative arts, and perhaps that they played music. Their physiognomy indicates a fully formed capability for speech.
I wonder, thinking about those people from so long ago, what they would make of us, and we of them, were we to encounter each other. When I see busy New Yorkers walking down the street, dressed in their fashionable clothes, obliviously checking their texts, I cannot help but think that perhaps the differences are superficial.
We are, I suspect, just a shadow’s distance away from who we were 40,000 years ago. Our brains, our bodies, our emotions, our need for love, for laughter and connection, there is a good chance that these have not changed one whit.
As we boldly stride forth into the future, hoping to design shiny new media for the human of tomorrow, it might be good to keep this in mind.