Cognitive Preconditions for the Deep Symbolic Systems Model (DSSM)

The Deep Symbolic Systems Model (DSSM) argues that structured symbolic–ritual systems underlay human cultural continuity long before writing, agriculture, or urbanism. To support this, the present paper establishes the cognitive and social technologies that emerged before robust symbolic externalization (~50 ka). By synthesizing paleoanthropological, archaeological, and cognitive research, three sequential phases are outlined: (1) foundational technological cognition among early hominins; (2) anatomical modernization enabling symbolic grammar; and (3) the behavioral stabilization of symbolic systems. A comparative framework highlights how these phases satisfy DSSM criteria of coordination, memory externalization, and persistent constraint systems