What is the purpose of Long term memory (say 10 years or longer).

If something is important enough to remember, then it would be performed more often, therefore making a memory of a previous previous use of that performance unnecessary.

So what purpose, in the Evolutionary scheme of things does a Long term memory ability have.

Also: if other mammals have this same ability then it would seem that this ability must have developed before primates were separated from other mammals. (otherwise it would be too much of a conincidence for two different orders of life to have developed the same [un-needed]ability).

y wrote:
"If something is important enough to remember, then it would be performed more often, therefore making a memory of a previous previous use of that performance unnecessary."

Are you serious?

Let us take a quick trip down memory lane to a time about 25,000 years ago.

I was attacked by a saber toothed kittycat 12 years ago when I was age 14. Now I am 24, ten years later for those who are math challenged, and I've no need to remember things that happened a full ten years ago I'll just say nice kitty ... nice kitty ... can I scratch you behind the ears?

I'd have lived a lot longer, I guess, had I been attacked by predators more often.