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Another Theory About the Origin of Speech
It also suggests we Homo sapiens weren’t the first to form spoken language.
Not a day goes by that we don’t use language in some form, yet rarely do we wonder how or when language began. Who was the first to speak aloud? What did they say? And why did they say anything at all? Was spoken language an evolution for our ancient Homo sapiens relatives that separated us from other hominin species? Or did we learn it? Luckily for us, researchers are also curious about these questions and more.
While we may never fully know the answers, experts have a couple of convincing theories. One idea, which I wrote about before, suggests caregivers (presumably maternal figures) created spoken language to make community childcare easier. Now, a new theory proposes verbal language emerged due to changes in the climate — and there’s some surprising evidence to support the claim.
When Did Verbal Language Originate?
Exactly when language developed is still hotly debated, with experts arguing Homo sapiens evolved spoken language anywhere between 50,000 to 100,000 years ago. Though a growing pile of research suggests that we Sapiens weren’t the first to develop spoken language — other hominin species, including the Neanderthals, likely used some…
