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Essay on Human Origins
Some 3.6 million years ago, "Lucy," African australopithecine, apelike vocal tract, could not speak, communicated by gestures and grunts. (Ehrlich, 2000) Three million years ago, crude human proto-language emerged with the ability to pronounce more distinct sounds; early language as mixture of gestures and sounds. About 2 million years ago, archaic Homo erectus developed physical organs and mental capacity to produce a rough form of speech. Almost 300,000 years ago, Neanderthals still could not pronounce "ee" and "oo". Some 100,000 years ago, first modern vocal tract appeared in the fossils of Homo sapiens.
About 50,000 years ago, brain lateralization and language ability localization occurred in the left hemisphere. Almost 45,000 years ago saw the beginnings of development of symbolic thought and of language as we know it. With the relatively sudden ascent of the new species of humans during the Pleistocene era, technological advances took off. Yet here the authors emphasize rather a "slow and almost orderly process" that involved an enrichment of emotional signaling accompanied by beneficial physical changes in the face and skull (loss of facial hair, for example, encouraged a vastly more subtle and complex repertory of expressions).
Archaic Homo sapiens used gestures but also communicated with an archaic type of language like screaming rather than speaking. It was probably the exercise of articulating and the use of language, which stimulated the capacity to think in an abstract way and the basis of culture of Homo sapiens. Perhaps creativity was derived as a genetic mutation. Productive techniques and artistic ability made social organization more cohesive through symbolism; maybe these were the factors responsible for the extinction of Neanderthal man 30,000 years ago. There is evidence that just before Neanderthal man disappeared he developed a more refined culture because of the rapport he had established with sapiens. It is less probable that Neanderthal mated with sapiens.......
