ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Steven Mithen

Steven Mithen is a grown-up man who likes to learn about how humans lived a long time ago, before there were big cities and cars and computers. He thinks it's interesting to try and figure out what humans were like back then, and how they survived.

Steven Mithen likes to think about how our brains work. Your brain is the thing inside your head that helps you think and feel things. Steven thinks that ancient humans might have had brains that were different from ours! He thinks that their brains might have been better at doing lots of different things all at once, instead of just focusing on one thing like we do now.

Steven also thinks that ancient humans might have learned by doing things together, instead of just one person learning by themselves. They might have worked together to build things, hunt for food, and stay safe from other animals.

Steven knows a lot about the things that ancient humans left behind. They didn't have computers or phones, so they couldn't write things down like we do now. But they did draw pictures on rocks and in caves! Steven looks at these pictures and tries to guess what they might mean. He also looks at the things that they left behind, like tools and weapons, to figure out how they were used and what they were made of.

Overall, Steven Mithen is someone who really likes to learn about ancient humans and how they lived long ago. He thinks that by understanding how they lived and what they were like, we can learn more about ourselves and where we came from!