Nov 12 2009
Another Clue to the Evolution of Human Language
The good news: a new clue in the case of the evolution of human language has been discovered. The bad: It’s less like a full-bodied suspect with blood on her hands, more like a solitary fingerprint on a doorknob.
An article published yesterday in the online journal Nature shared findings about this clue: A specific gene that differs in humans and chimpanzees.
The research demonstrates that mutations believed to be important to FOXP2’s evolution in humans change how the gene functions, resulting in different gene targets being switched on or off in human and chimp brains. [source]
Okay, it’s just a clue, and maybe not a sexy one at that. But the bulk of the work scientists do is like this. Laying the groundwork for the big breakthrough.
What lead did the investigators follow? It seems that when mutated, the FOXP2 gene causes disrupted speech in humans.
There are many mysteries about human evolution still to be solved: The why/how of bipedalism, the origin of language (tied to tool use and physical gesturing or a relatively mere elaboration of guttural barks?), etc. For those who love mysteries, who welcome the state of being puzzled but not clue-less, it’s a good thing. I pity the citizens of an imaged far-distance future who know everything. How boring that would be.
[...] week I wrote a post about a newly discovered clue into the evolution of language. That clue had to do with the action [...]