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The time range for the evolution of language or its anatomical prerequisites extends, at least in principle, from the phylogenetic divergence of Homo (2.3 to 2.4 million years ago) from Pan (5 to 6 million years ago) to the emergence of full behavioral modernity some 50,000–150,000 years ago.
The origin of language is a hotly contested topic, with some languages tentatively traced back to the Paleolithic. However, archaeological and written records only extend the history of language into ancient times and the Neolithic. The distribution of languages has changed substantially over time.
Feb 3, 2016 · To those of us who study human evolution, this incredible universality suggests that our species has had language right from when Homo sapiens arose in Africa between 200,000 and 160,000...
- Mark Pagel
This might have been spoken by Mitochondrial Eve about 150,000 years ago, before our ancestors left Africa. Others believe that, since some human populations have been isolated for as long as 40,000 years, language evolved independently many times.
This article focuses on the evolution of language over the years. The evidence for primate and human evolution has derived primarily from comparative anatomy and fossil records, although since the 1960s, molecular and biochemical evidences have increasingly been used to delineate phylogenetic relationships among living species and diverse human ...
Mar 1, 2013 · 1. Was language given to humans by God or did it emerge by Darwinian evolution? 2. From a phylogenetic perspective, did language emerge abruptly or gradually?
Part III is about the prehistory of language, and in particular askes: When and why did language evolve? The text presents current interpretations of the selective events that may have led to the evolution of language.