Abstract: Group action and collective action call for different explanations than individual action. To this end, philosophers invoke some version of joint agency or shared intentionality to both distinguish joint actions from their individual counterparts and explain how they are possible. Recently the notion of joint agency has been deployed in theorizing about human cognitive evolution, with some—most notably Michael Tomasello—arguing that it is the key innovation unlocking complex human social behavior and morality. Here I will critically assess Tomasello’s evolutionary hypothesis and show that many forms of cooperative joint action can evolve without any special cognitive capacity supporting joint agency. The critical part of the project motivates some positive remarks about what is required of a concept of joint agency, if we are to use it in evolutionary theorizing.