THE CULTURAL ROOTS OF HUMAN COGNITION The hominin line shares most of its genetic makeup and a great deal of its behavioral repertoire with its closest primate relatives. At some point in the past, however, it set off on a different evolutionary trajectory, culminating in cognitive skills that are impressive both in extent and in the speed at which they have evolved. One goal of SapienCE is to shed light on when this process began and what triggered it. One insight gaining general acceptance is that the human capacity for culture played a key role in the evolution of our cognitive skills.