Without the symbols you have a big somewhat structured blob of experiences. It's apparently enough for hunting, mating and the like. It is apparently not enough

Without the symbols you have a big somewhat structured blob of experiences. It's apparently enough for hunting, mating and the like. It is apparently not enough for being the most technologically advanced species. [0] is of interest here. Ildefonso didn't like to talk about his life without language and called it dark. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Man_Without_Words https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Man_Without_Words