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Is Reduced Visual Processing the Price of Language?
Christer Johansson1, Per Olav Folgerø1
1Department of Linguistic, Literary, and Aesthetic Studies, University of Bergen, 5007 Bergen, Norway.
Human language capabilities emerged much later than previously thought, possibly over 200,000 years after Homo sapiens appeared. This late emergence of language may be linked to a shift away from intense visual perception.
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Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Anthropology
- Neuroscience
- Linguistics
Background:
- The emergence of full language capabilities in Homo sapiens is debated.
- Recent findings suggest a later timeline for language evolution.
- Perceptual systems, particularly vision, may have influenced language development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between language evolution and perceptual abilities.
- To propose a revised timeline for the emergence of human language.
- To explore the role of neural organization in language development.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of recent research literature on language and perception.
- Analysis of paleontological evidence, including Homo sapiens gracilization and brain volume changes.
- Examination of findings on brain lateralization in primates and artistic abilities in humans.
Main Results:
- Evidence suggests Homo sapiens experienced brain volume reduction and shifts in artistic expression during the late Paleolithic.
- Homologues of language-relevant brain functions and lateralization for communicative gestures exist in non-linguistic primates.
- An overwhelming flow of perceptual information, especially vision, may have initially hindered language evolution.
Conclusions:
- Full language capabilities in Homo sapiens likely emerged later than previously assumed, possibly over 200,000 years after the species' origin.
- A neural reorganization away from raw perception facilitated the emergence of language.
- A recent origin of language opens avenues for investigating its genetic basis.