Skip to main content

Origins of Language



The Proto-Human language is the hypothetical ancestor of all the world's languages, between 200,000 years ago, the age of Homo sapiens, and 50,000 years ago, the age of behavioral modernity at which Homo sapiens began to demonstrate an ability to use complex symbolic thought and express cultural creativity. These developments are often thought to be associated with the origin of language.



One theory holds that modern human behavior is the result of the gradual accumulation of knowledge, skills and culture occurring over hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution.

Another theory holds that behavioral modernity occurred as a sudden event some 50 kya (50,000 years ago) in prehistory, possibly as a result of a major genetic mutation or as a result of a biological reorganization of the brain that led to the emergence of modern human natural languages.

It has been speculated that the FOXP2 gene may be what gives humans the ability to develop grammar and syntax.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Hattians - First Civilizations in Anatolia

The Hattians were an ancient people who inhabited the land of Hatti in Asia Minor in the 3rd to 2nd millennia BC. They spoke a non-Indo-European language of uncertain affiliation called Hattic (now believed by some to be related to the Northwest Caucasian language group). They eventually merged with or were replaced by the Hittites, who spoke the Indo-European Hittite language.

Read & see more »

Hattic mythology

The Hattian mythology deals with the myths and stories of the Hatti gods, as they were handed down by the Hittites. They can be captured quite well by the source position, in contrast to Hattian cults, rituals and religious beliefs that can not be separated satisfactorily from Hittite and other elements.

Read & see more »

Hittites

Photo: Hittite Sun Hattians - First civilizations in Anatolia Hattusa History of Hittites Hittites in the Bible The Hittites were an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa (Hittite URUḪattuša) in north-central Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite empire was at its height, encompassing central Anatolia, north-western Syria as far as Ugarit, and upper Mesopotamia. After 1180 BC, the empire disintegrated into several independent "Neo-Hittite" city-states, some of which survived until as late as the 8th century BC.

Read & see more »