Cognitive myth analysis

This position paper proposes the hypothesis that Homo sapiens diverged from other hominins not only biologically but also through a process of cognitive-cultural differentiation. Central to this thesis is the idea of a cognitive leap—an evolutionary transformation in neural architecture and symbolic thinking that enabled the emergence of myth, religion, cultural technologies, and metareflection.By integrating genetic, archaeological, and comparative mythological evidence, the paper suggests that universal mythic structures (e.g., the fall from grace, great floods, culture-bringers) are not merely cultural inventions but traces of a profound shift in consciousness during early human development.An interdisciplinary model is presented, combining evolutionary biology with depth psychology, religious studies, and memory theory. This work aims to contribute to our understanding of how the biological human became a self-reflective cultural being—and whether myths can be interpreted as mnemonic echoes of this transformation.