On Thu, Dec 27, 2012 at 11:33 AM, Ben Goertzel <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > On Thu, Dec 27, 2012 at 11:28 AM, Logan Streondj <[email protected]>wrote: > >> Hmmm I heard a less patriarchical theory, in line with current >> neurobiology (neo-cortex language centers are inherited from mother), that >> females started language, for using it to maintain social order (i.e. >> gossip), and to communicate information about berry bushes and herbs (i.e. >> shopping). >> >> > That is a very common theory, which Bickerton discusses extensively in his > book.... However, he feels this would have not provided a sufficiently > desperate need to trigger the emergence of human language.... I encourage > you to read his arguments for yourself ;) > > Just based on your summary, they seem like simply more patriarchical wishful thinking, I definitely wouldn't pay money to read a biased perspective. It's undeniable that females have more evolved language centers, which gives every incentive to believe they developed it first. > > >> For me it would seem counter-intuitive that sounds would be used during a >> hunt, as that would scare away the prey, even now with >> covert-ops/swat-teams and wolves all prefer hand-signals. >> > > > His hypothesis isn't so much about the hunt process, but about the > scavenging process. His hypothesis is that the first sentences were > something "Hey, there's a dead mammoth down by the river, let's go take its > meat together before the wolves get it all...." > > ;) > Ben > Humans may be general omnivores, but actually lean strongly towards herbivorism rather than carnivorism, meat and especially rotting meat tends to be extremely aversive to human olafactory senses, because we don't have carnivorous stomach acid strong enough to destroy pathogens. Rotting "scavenged" meat was typically only good enough for dogs, as with most left-overs, bones etc. The author clearly hasn't done any hunting, foraging or scavenging, and is simply an arm-chair enthusiast. Hunter-gatherer males that still exist in places don't scavenge for food, they hunt, and typically only make up a relatively small amount of the caloric intake of the tribe (providing extra protein mainly), as the majority of calories is carbohydrates from plant matter, that the females communally process, such as tree bark flour etc. Many hands make for light work when stripping trees of bark and grinding it into flour. So the teamwork of the females is essential, thereby providing ample incentive to form language, to organize and delegate tasks. In example the Kombai people of Papua New Guinea "The *staple food *is *starch harvested* from sago palms growing wild in the jungle. It takes the *women*a few hours to drain and dry a few bundles of starch from the palm, and a large tree can provide enough starch to sustain a family for seven to ten days" http://www.bbc.co.uk/tribe/tribes/kombai/index.shtml > > > *AGI* | Archives <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now> > <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/5037279-a88c7a6d> | > Modify<https://www.listbox.com/member/?&;>Your Subscription > <http://www.listbox.com> > ------------------------------------------- AGI Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/21088071-f452e424 Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=21088071&id_secret=21088071-58d57657 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
