But I feel music has a very important role in ritual activity, and that being able to join in musical activity, along with dancing, could have been necessary at a very early stage of human culture.

In this remark, Wilson frames music (and dance) not as a decorative byproduct of civilization but as a functional adaptation tied to early human social life. By linking music to “ritual activity,” he suggests that coordinated sound and movement helped bind groups together—synchronizing emotion, attention, and behavior in ways that could reinforce shared identity, cooperation, and norms. The claim that participation may have been “necessary” implies selective pressure: individuals able to join communal performance might have gained social acceptance, mating opportunities, or coalition support. The quote fits Wilson’s broader interest in explaining culture through evolutionary and sociobiological mechanisms.