Unifying the gestural and the vocal in the evolution of culture, the arts, and the brain

Cultural evolution in humans is based on the transmission of knowledge and know-how through the process of social learning. Humans have evolved two distinct mechanisms of social learning, although they tend to be discussed in completely separate literatures. They are gestural (or motor) learning and vocal learning. Within the arts, gestural learning is important for the evolution of dance and mime, while vocal learning is important for the evolution of oral literature and vocal music. These two learning systems get jointly recruited to mediate the process of impersonation during theatrical role playing; an actor has to depict both the gestural and vocal features of a portrayed character. An evolutionary synthesis of gestural and vocal learning undergirds the human capacity for culture, including the arts. I discuss potential brain mechanisms for this synthesis in which the neural pathways for the gestural and the vocal may converge.