Dubreuil (Biol Phil 25:53–73, 2010b, this journal) argues that modern-like cognitive abilities for inhibitory control and goal maintenance most likely evolved in Homo heidelbergensis, much before the evolution of oft-cited modern traits, such as symbolism and art. Dubreuil’s argument proceeds in two steps. First, he identifies two behavioral traits that are supposed to be indicative of the presence of a capacity for inhibition and goal maintenance: cooperative feeding and cooperative breeding. Next, he tries to show that these behavioral traits most likely emerged in Homo heidelbergensis. In this paper, I show that neither of these steps are warranted in light of current scientific evidence, and thus, that the evolutionary background of human executive functions, such as inhibition and goal maintenance, remains obscure. Nonetheless, I suggest that cooperative breeding might mark a crucial step in the evolution of our species: its early emergence in Homo erectus might have favored a social intelligence that was required to get modernity really off the ground in Homo sapiens.

中文翻译：

---

合作饲养和繁殖以及执行控制的演变

Dubreuil（Biol Phil 25:53–73, 2010b，本期刊）认为，现代人的抑制控制和目标维持认知能力很可能是在海德堡人中进化出来的，远早于经常被引用的现代特征的进化，例如象征主义和艺术。杜布勒伊的论证分两步进行。首先，他确定了两种被认为表明存在抑制和目标维持能力的行为特征：合作喂养和合作繁殖。接下来，他试图证明这些行为特征很可能出现在海德堡人身上。在本文中，我表明，根据当前的科学证据，这些步骤都没有必要，因此，人类执行功能（例如抑制和目标维持）的进化背景仍然模糊。尽管如此，我认为合作育种可能标志着我们物种进化的关键一步：它在直立人中的早期出现可能有利于智人真正实现现代性所需的社会智能。