even more telling is humans have the ability to understand the past, and how it influences the present, and the future.
an animal might be able to catch a trace of a scent, and know a lion has been near by, recently.. but a human can see (though often not smell the scent of lion) and look at its tracks and KNOW which when the lion went.)
human see the world differently--(and we rely on sight more than scent) and we can see a lion's prints in the sand, and know, by looking at them,--with some training--how old they are, and with almost no training, what way the lion was going.
animals can smell a lion and think --Lion was here.. not here now... look around not see or smell 'fresh lion' and go on.
they can't see the lion tracks and know --Lion went north (i'll go south) it can only hope that the lion isn't up wind of it. --and if it is, and it can't get a scent fix, it will walk along the same path the lion did--oblivious to the tracks the lion layed down.
Humans can see a lion's tracks, know --a lion was here (recently)about as effectively as an animal can with scent --but it can also--trace back were the lion came from and where its is headed.
humans know if you follow a lions tracks at the end, there is a lion (and we had an interest in killing of prediors that competed with us, (and that also saw us as prey!)
the same tracking skills were used to hunt prey by humans.
the cognative brain delevopement (that allows us to see tracks and understand what they mean) also allowed for the developement of language.
we not only need a 'call' for--Lion, NOW, lion but one for Lion WAS here, -and Lion WENT THAT WAY. (or even Lion WILL BE BACK) and that is part of language. past, present, future.
animals can remember some of the past, and repeat actions, but they can't think to the future.
