First of all, there could be little doubt that humans had a conscience 45,000 years ago, which is the conservative date that all archaeologists agree on for our having become culturally modern. Having a conscience and morality go with being culturally modern.

How did morality begin?

Nearly 150 years ago, Charles Darwin proposed that morality was a byproduct of evolution, a human trait that arose as natural selection shaped man into a highly social species—and the capacity for morality, he argued, lay in small, subtle differences between us and our closest animal relatives.

Is morality discovered or invented?

Morality is a human invention and there is considerable variation among different human groups. Ethics or moral principle is basically a cultural guideline for getting along with one’s peers and for respecting social contacts.