Origins of human language stretch back 25 million years

[Timeshifter]

Brilliant detective work this

'The human brain's language pathway was previously thought to have evolved only 5 million years ago....

The roots of human language have been traced back 25 million years – 20 million years earlier than the previous estimate...

The discovery was made by researchers in the UK, USA and Germany by studying a connection in the brain called the ‘arcuate fasciculus’ or human language pathway. This is a bundle of nerve fibres that connects regions of the brain that are important for processing language.

If this pathway or its connected regions become damaged – through a stroke, for instance, or dementia – it can affect a person’s ability to produce or understand speech.

Piecing together the origins of human language is a tricky task. Whereas palaeontologists can use fossilised bones to find out what our ancestors looked like and how they lived, brains don’t become fossilised.

This means that neuroscientists have to use brain scans of living primates, and compare these to human scans, in order to gain insights into the minds of ancient primates.

Previously, chimpanzees had been found to have their own version of the human language pathway, suggesting that a precursor to the pathway emerged around five million years ago, when the two species split from a common ancestor. But the new finding pushes back the date again'

So, how have they actually figured this out? Comparing primate & humans brains = 25million years

This science just gets better and better.

Origins of human language stretch back 25 million years

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[Felix Noille]

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Username: Felixnoille
Date: 2020-04-25 11:08:33
Reaction Score: 1

Just a minute... wasn't that episode 4, season 3 of The Munsters? Or was it The Addams Family?

 

[HollyHoly]

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Username: HollyHoly
Date: 2020-04-25 19:31:55
Reaction Score: 6

Brilliant detective work this

'The human brain's language pathway was previously thought to have evolved only 5 million years ago....

The roots of human language have been traced back 25 million years – 20 million years earlier than the previous estimate...

The discovery was made by researchers in the UK, USA and Germany by studying a connection in the brain called the ‘arcuate fasciculus’ or human language pathway. This is a bundle of nerve fibres that connects regions of the brain that are important for processing language.

If this pathway or its connected regions become damaged – through a stroke, for instance, or dementia – it can affect a person’s ability to produce or understand speech.

Piecing together the origins of human language is a tricky task. Whereas palaeontologists can use fossilised bones to find out what our ancestors looked like and how they lived, brains don’t become fossilised.

This means that neuroscientists have to use brain scans of living primates, and compare these to human scans, in order to gain insights into the minds of ancient primates.

Previously, chimpanzees had been found to have their own version of the human language pathway, suggesting that a precursor to the pathway emerged around five million years ago, when the two species split from a common ancestor. But the new finding pushes back the date again'

So, how have they actually figured this out? Comparing primate & humans brains = 25million years

This science just gets better and better.

Origins of human language stretch back 25 million years

I'm confused why is there a 'human language pathway" before allegedly there are humans? Chimpanzees have a 'human language pathway" but they are apes and they don't speak? Do Crows and Parrots have a "human language pathway" because they can speak? How about whales and dolphins that have complex language they must have 'human language pathways".

"Piecing together the origins of human language is a tricky task. Whereas palaeontologists can use fossilised bones to find out what our ancestors looked like and how they lived, brains don’t become fossilised.

This means that neuroscientists have to use brain scans of living primates, and compare these to human scans, in order to gain insights into the minds of ancient primates." so we just make stuff up!!

" I think brains do fossilize if you stay in this type of academia long enough. Let this article be a warning to us all

 

[Archive]

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Username: esgee1
Date: 2020-04-26 02:57:20
Reaction Score: 1

What's being written about in the article Timeshifter linked is conjecture. You can't interpret it all as absolute fact (as that's just being delusional). The people who write these articles often sound like they're writing about fact. But it's really just conjecture. Their assumptions based off of prior research they assume to be true.

There's really no way to prove it. It would be interesting to visit their labs to see in person the processes they took to come to their conclusions. Not just read about it. It's a neat theory they have on the evolution of the brain's language pathway. I find the development of the brain a fascinating subject. Thanks for posting this. Cheers!

 

[Archive]

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Username: PairAlleles
Date: 2020-04-26 03:32:25
Reaction Score: 1

The discovery was made by researchers in the UK, USA and Germany by studying a connection in the brain called the ‘arcuate fasciculus’ or human language pathway.

yeah, just go back to the future for history - need a few million years, just add fasces!

 

[Archive]

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Username: TheBigKimJon
Date: 2020-04-30 11:52:45
Reaction Score: 1

They feed us the most ridiculous bs these and people are fascinated lol

 

[codis]

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Username: codis
Date: 2020-04-30 14:52:08
Reaction Score: 1

The roots of human language have been traced back 25 million years – 20 million years earlier than the previous estimate...

The discovery was made by researchers in the UK, USA and Germany by studying a connection in the brain called the ‘arcuate fasciculus’ or human language pathway. This is a bundle of nerve fibres that connects regions of the brain that are important for processing language.

I can spot some generous portion of magical thinking there.
And the magic belief is, if you can name a thing, you know and control it.
Just as medics spit out a diagnosis which supposedly calms down the poor patient. Because, you know, he named it and knows what to do, doesn't he ?
Or, as sometimes featured in horror movies with catholic undertones. Once you know the name of the demon that haunts you, you can defeat him. Well, only with the help of God's Great Representative On Earth, or one of his priestly underlings.

As with beauty, the magnificence of many scientists only forms in the minds of the marvelling admirers...

 

[HollyHoly]

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Username: HollyHoly
Date: 2020-04-30 16:00:17
Reaction Score: 0

I can spot some generous portion of magical thinking there.
And the magic belief is, if you can name a thing, you know and control it.
Just as medics spit out a diagnosis which supposedly calms down the poor patient. Because, you know, he named it and knows what to do, doesn't he ?
Or, as sometimes featured in horror movies with catholic undertones. Once you know the name of the demon that haunts you, you can defeat him. Well, only with the help of God's Great Representative On Earth, or one of his priestly underlings.

As with beauty, the magnificence of many scientists only forms in the minds of the marvelling admirers...

brilliant assessment, exactly so, first rule of magik