The brain of homo sapiens is the result of natural selection over millions of years (Darwin 1871, 83–99; Allman 2000). The human brain is the source of adaptive behaviors that have allowed us to survive in varying climates across the planet; the brain lies at the core of what it means to be human, and likely what has produced tools, art, and music (Wilson 1999). It also may be the ultimate source of tools used to create accounting artifacts and reports (Dickhaut, Basu, McCabe, and Waymire 2010).
Implicit in an evolutionary story of accounting origins is a link between evolved features of the human brain and the accounting measurement rules that emerge from market interactions (Dickhaut 2009). Evolution is a long-term process that requires that we consider both proximate and ultimate causation. For example, a powerful proximate force affecting the demand...
