The book that was most helpful in this area gave me many topics to think about.It had a few chapters in it that really caught my eye. It had historical views on this subject, a modern evolutionary theory, examples on the physical context of evolution, and extinction/patterns of evolution. It stated that humans are the only species that has evolved an advanced system of communication between individuals (Human Evolution).
A third area I researched in this process was telling ways to teach and explain languages to children (Easy Ways to Reach and Teach). This was very interesting and gave tips and strategies for being successful.Researching the history and the many different ideas that go along with language showed me many things that I was unaware of and has helped me greatly. After looking through the research I did, I feel that the evolution of language did not happen rapidly, it happened over time and gradually.
The evolution of the brain, intelligence, and consciousness is the first topic I researched. There are two major ideas that have been advancing in recent years that go along with a special problem faced by hominines in brain expansion (Human Evolution).Robert Martin of the Field Museum, in Chicago, proposed the first of these major ideas. He found that the mother’s metabolic rate is the key to the size of the brain a species can afford.
In other words, the higher the metabolic rate, the bigger the relative brain size. The slower the metabolic rate, the smaller the relative brain size. The second major idea, which was proposed by Mark Pagel and Paul Harvey of Oxford University, is that the gestation time and litter size represent the determining factors. A long gestation, with a litter of one, is very important for a large brained species.Both hypotheses are said by authors to have empirical support, debate is still going on to which is the more appropriate and correct.
Humans and other primates are a part of a very clear pattern among vertebrates as a whole, because they are much more endowed mentally (Human Evolution). It is also a fact that depending on the measurement used, mammals are about ten times smarter than reptiles and amphibians. Due to this progression, which also takes into account the successive major evolutionary innovations and radiations, human heads are much more sophisticated than say, an apes head.The human head is off of the body due to the neck, and much more evolved and equip for a larger, more functional brain, while the apes head is directly on the body and much smaller, leaving less space and room for a large brain. The need to grow such a large brain distorted several basic life-history characteristics seen in other primates.
As an example for this, the adult ape brain is nearly 2. 3 times bigger than the brain in the newborn ape, while the adult brain for humans is 3. 5 times bigger than the newborn child (Human Evolution). When born, a human child is about twice as large and has a brain twice the size of a newborn ape.This tells us that human mothers devote a relatively greater quantity of time and energy to the fetal brain and body development over a standard time than the humans’ closest relative, the ape. Another difference that happens to be major and noticeable is the pattern of growth.
Brain growth proceeds rapidly until birth, in mammals, which includes primates. After birth, a slower phase is going on, which lasts usually about a year, for primates. As in humans, the prenatal phase of rapid brain growth continues for a much longer time after birth.This longer time period for humans essentially gives us about a 21- month gestation period.
This pattern has been named the secondary altriciality. It is a fact that the human brain is about 3 times bigger than the apes brain. There is fossil evidence that could possibly show the expanding brain size and give insight on social organization, or more specifically, infant care. There are also many possible causes of brain expansion. A popular notion that has been around for a while is the hypothesis seems very obvious. The major difference between apes and humans is that humans made and used stone tools.
The brain size growing to the amount of basically tripling in size is also coupled with an increasing complexity of tool technology (Human Evolution). There are now newer ideas that have been thought to be the explanation for this evolution. There have been laboratory tests done on apes and monkeys that showed they are very intelligent creatures, and then tests done in field studies that show the daily lives of these creatures are relatively undermanding. These findings bring up many questions and one particular question is, “What selective advantage does a high degree of intelligence confer on monkeys and apes? .
The answer to this question is primate social life. Language is a unique characteristic of humans (Human Evolution). There is fossil evidence and archeology that can help answer the “when did language evolve” questions. Another question that in just as exciting to research is, “Why did language evolve? ” The easiest and most obvious answer to this question is simply for better communication. This answer has been the longest favored answer, but new research has given new ideas to focus on the need to construct a better way to communicate.Language is basically invisible to track, but there are clues that can help give hints to these questions.
Some examples are, in stone tools, content and context of paintings and other forms of artistic expression, and in the fossil remains of themselves. The most wondered about question relating to this topic is usually, “How did language emerge? Was it a slow gradual process, or a rapid process? ” There are many ways of researching these well thought out questions. Some fossils have been discovered that give hints of verbal skills in our ancestors. Archeological evidence has been found, including tools and art.
Learning and researching about these types of questions has really caught my eye, and I enjoyed doing so (Human Evolution). The second area I researched about language was how something as simple as the way a person uses their hand can shape the brain, language and human culture (The Hand). Even the earliest primates, Paleocene mammals, which were mouse to cat sized creatures began to make the complex adaptations that an above- ground food source demanded by way of hunting and gathering. Primates figured out that the key to successful tree life would be to follow generic physical changes.This law states, “Orbits and eyes moved to a forward position in the head, permitting binocular vision, certainly an advantage for navigating in three- dimensional space and for finding and catching small prey at close distances” (The Hand). Animals and humans have been adapting since time began, making them able to live.
It is only natural that language would come along with this adaptation or evolution, per say. The last area I looked at while researching for this paper is how children learn the best and signs they give to try to get their point across. This area was very interesting and showed many ideas that made sense.One book went from teaching a beginner English all the way through. In this book it stated that the beginning stage of language can last up to eight months and in some cases can be even longer than that (Easy Ways to Reach and Teach). It goes on to tell what this stage looks like and what is going on.
It tells that in the very beginning the learner may just be saying one or two words and pointing or reaching to the object they are trying to say. The book states that this stage is difficult and challenging for both the learner and teacher, so to be patient (Easy Ways to Reach and Teach). I feel that this ties in with the theory of evolution.Scientists and experts wonder if language happened rapid or if it occurred over time and was a long, steady process.
I feel that even just by judging how a baby learns to talk and the steps and phases they go through to learn how to talk can give insight on what happened back when language began. Researching these many topics and looking into them each a little more closely has given me many ideas to think about and a new look on language. In conclusion, I researched many topics and ideas for this paper. I looked into everything from the evolution to language, to brain functions and why this evolution, per say, ended up taking place.I looked into fossil records and evidence for language and brain functions. I also found out some information about how children or people that do not know a certain language begin to learn.
I gave many examples and conclusions to any questions that I brought up. I enjoyed looking through this type of information and found it very useful and interesting to research. I believe that that language did not just evolve, and did not evolve rapidly. I think that with all of the art findings and the many tools found, that it shows that there was always a type of language and it slowly went in to becoming verbal.
