Human Language Evolution

Contributors from a range of disciplines consider the disconnect between human evolutionary studies and the rest of evolutionary biology.The study of human evolution often seems to rely on scenarios a

This new edition provides a comprehensive overview to the field of paleontology—the study of human evolution by analyzing fossil remains. It includes the latest fossil finds, and it presents current c

In Becoming Human, noted anthropologist and renaissance man Ian Tattersall explores what makes us uniquely human, the qualities that set us apart from our ancestors, and the significance of our knowle

Language, more than anything else, is what makes us human. It appears that no communication system of equivalent power exists elsewhere in the animal kingdom. Any normal human child will learn a language based on rather sparse data in the surrounding world, while even the brightest chimpanzee, exposed to the same environment, will not. Why not? How, and why, did language evolve in our species and not in others? Since Darwin's theory of evolution, questions about the origin of language have generated a rapidly-growing scientific literature, stretched across a number of disciplines, much of it directed at specialist audiences. The diversity of perspectives - from linguistics, anthropology, speech science, genetics, neuroscience and evolutionary biology - can be bewildering. Tecumseh Fitch cuts through this vast literature, bringing together its most important insights to explore one of the biggest unsolved puzzles of human history.

Language, more than anything else, is what makes us human. It appears that no communication system of equivalent power exists elsewhere in the animal kingdom. Any normal human child will learn a language based on rather sparse data in the surrounding world, while even the brightest chimpanzee, exposed to the same environment, will not. Why not? How, and why, did language evolve in our species and not in others? Since Darwin's theory of evolution, questions about the origin of language have generated a rapidly-growing scientific literature, stretched across a number of disciplines, much of it directed at specialist audiences. The diversity of perspectives - from linguistics, anthropology, speech science, genetics, neuroscience and evolutionary biology - can be bewildering. Tecumseh Fitch cuts through this vast literature, bringing together its most important insights to explore one of the biggest unsolved puzzles of human history.

This volume presents approximately 100 refereed papers and abstracts from the conference held March 2012, in Kyoto, Japan. The EVOLANG conference is held biennially, bringing together researchers in a

Recent years witnessed an increased interest in formal pragmatics and especially the establishment of game theory as a new research methodology for the study of language use. Game and Decision Theory

Fully updated with the latest discoveries and research, amazingly realistic illustrations and detailed maps plot eight million years of human development in the context of our genetics, anatomy, behav

This unrivalled illustrated guide to human evolution brings you face to face with your ancient ancestors. Travelling back in time almost eight million years, the book charts the development of our spe

Knowledge of chimpanzees in the wild has expanded dramatically in recent years. This comprehensive volume, edited by Martin Muller, Richard Wrangham, and David Pilbeam, brings together scientists who

Written by an authoritative, internationally renowned author, Dictionary of Human Evolution provides a concise reference guide to commonly used terms in biological anthropology, including recent fossi

In this masterwork, Russell H. Tuttle synthesizes a vast research literature in primate evolution and behavior to explain how apes and humans evolved in relation to one another, and why humans became

In an exploration of human evolution that includes 225 full-color photos and illustrations and 20 maps, a Cambridge professor explains where human ancestors lived, that they wore and ate, whether they

Evolution of Human Behavior is the first text to synthesize and compare the major proposals for human behavioral evolution from an anthropological perspective. Ideal for courses in the evolution of hu

Evolution of Human Behavior is the first text to synthesize and compare the major proposals for human behavioral evolution from an anthropological perspective. Ideal for courses in the evolution of hu

Evolutionary psychology occupies an important place in the drive to understand andexplain human behavior. Darwinian ideas provide powerful tools to illuminate how fundamental aspectsof the way humans

Challenges the popular "Eve" theory of human origins, presenting the controversial "multiregional" model of human evolution and racial differences that finds evidence in fossil remains. 17,500 first p

The names given to the variety of man-like fossils known to scientists should reflect no more than scientific views of the nature of human evolution. However, often in the past these names have also r

Recent interest in new diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and Ebola, and the resurgence of older diseases like tuberculosis has fostered questions about the history of human infectious diseases. How did they

Primate and Human Evolution provides a synthesis of the evolution and adaptive significance of human anatomical, physiological and behavioral traits. Using paleontology and modern human variation and biology, it compares hominid traits to those of other catarrhine primates both living and extinct, presenting a new hominization model that does not depend solely on global climate change, but on predictable trends observed in catarrhines. Dealing with the origins of hominid tool use and tool manufacture, it compares tool behavior in other animals and incorporates information from the earliest archaeological record. Examining the use of non-human primates and other mammals in modeling the origins of early human social behavior, Susan Cachel argues that human intelligence does not arise from complex social interactions, but from attentiveness to the natural world. This book will be a rich source of inspiration for all those interested in the evolution of all primates, including ourselves.

Classification and Human Evolution

Examining the differences between men and women in sexual behavior and attitudes, Symons concludes that these differences are innate and that identical sexualities in males and females can never be ac

Language and Human Nature exposes a century's worth of flawed thinking about language, exhibits some of the dangers it presents, and suggests a path to recovery. It begins by examining the causes of c

Evolution has not typically been recognised by linguists as a constraining factor when developing linguistic theories. This book demonstrates that our theories of language must reflect the fact that language has evolved. It critiques a currently dominant framework in the field of linguistics - the Minimalist Program - by showing how it fails to take evolution into account. It approaches the question of the evolution of human language in a novel way by applying findings from the field of evolutionary biology to language. Key properties associated with typically evolving systems are identified in language, and the shortcomings of the Minimalist Program in its outright rejection of these features are exposed. The book will be of interest to individual researchers and advanced students in linguistics, psychology, biology, anthropology and cognitive science.

Language did not evolve only in the distant past. Our shared understanding of the meanings of words is ever-changing, and we make conscious, rational decisions about which words to use and what to mea