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Re: Language Acquisition and Ability in Early Hominids
cc3265@CNSVAX.ALBANY.EDU
7 Nov 1995 04:40:20 GMT
In article <47hj57$7b6@mars.earthlink.net>, bodhi (Michael McBroom)@earthlink.net (Michael McBroom) writes:
>Hi all,
>
>My understanding is that the Australopithicines probably had
>rudimentary language skills at best, but that beginning with Homo
>Habilis, something bordering on human-like communication was born.
>It's my suspicion that the increased cranial capacity of Homo Habilis
>as compared to that of the 'cines was directly associated with a
>dramatic increase in language ability and the communication and
>socialization skills that would go hand-in-hand with it. From that
>point, language acquisition and ability would have become an adaptive
>characteristic, leading to refinement in later species due to
>selection pressures.
Hi Michael. It is my understanding that ER1470 (a specimen currently
classified as habilis, from the Lake Turkana, Kenya, area) had a Broca's
area. This would indicate linguistic ability, or at least, whatever was
a precursor to it that involved this area, I suppose. I'll probably know
more about this next semester when my advisor (who was working on this) gets
back from her sabbatical. Feel free to e-mail me then, if you like.
Caroline Cooper
Dept. of Anthropology
SUNY Albany
cc3265@cnsvax.albany.edu
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