The Evolution of Knowledge Systems: Narrative Knowledge versus Scientific Knowledge

This paper discusses two types of knowledge that are generated by cultural anthropology, narrative knowledge and scientific knowledge. The argument of this article is that narrative knowledge an older form of knowledge that dates to the time when the brain was evolving its capacity for cultural communication, and that scientific knowledge is more recent and depends on writing and other more elaborate technologies for encoding cultural information outside of the human brain. The article explores the various ways in which narrative knowledge