I’ll start by looking at the main differences between Sterelny and Clark’s accounts of niche construction, highlighting the importance of social niche construction for cognitive development. I’ll then provide an account of the developmental route by which social niches transform the neural circuitry that underpins many of our more recent cognitive abilities. Including reading, writing and mathematics. The model I present diverges from Clark and Sterelny because it focusses on the dual transformatory effects of development in social niches: the ability to represent discrete symbols and the ability to physically manipulate those symbols for cognitive ends.