Object substitution pretense reflects a general capacity to interpret objects as symbols

Nonlinguistic external representations, such as diagrams, animations, or puppet shows, involvelocal relations between a perceptually available object (a symbol) and an entity that is relevant inthe current communicative context (a discourse referent). By analyzing the empirical evidence onearly pretend play, I argue that object substitution pretense can be fully accounted for if it isconceived of as a subspecies of external representation. This implies that the capacity to interpretobjects as symbols emerges early and reliably in human ontogeny. I discuss several accounts ofpretend play and related phenomena and argue that the current proposal provides a better andmore general account of early symbolic understanding than alternative views.