Abstract
This thesis explores several lines of evidence supporting the
hypothesis that the evolution of manual object manipulation laid
the foundations for the development of syntactic grammar. Once
biological evolution had yielded a human brain and body capable of
supporting language, the capacity for hierarchically organized
action and thought involved in complex behaviors like stone tool
construction was co-opted to support the feature of
compositionality in language. These two abilities - hierarchical
action and compositional syntax - were mutually selective in the
cultural evolution of the modern mind and co-evolved in an
expanding spiral from an initially analogic form of communication
into a fully digital and productive linguistic system. Dexterous
hands originally adapted for object manipulation came to serve the
dual functions of analogic gesture and a digital system of
initially manual arbitrary signs, although the truly compositional
and productive qualities of language ultimately became restricted
to the vocal modality. This process can be corroborated by the
evolution of lithic technologies and other behavioral correlates in
the archaeological record.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
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1
2. Embodiment
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6
3. Hands and Language
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17
4. The Parallel Structure of Language and Complex Action
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29
5. Action and Language in Human Ontogeny
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50
6. The Respective Roles of Biological and Cultural Processes in
Language Evolution ……….. 68
7. Plausible Scenarios for the Cultural Evolution of Language
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78
8. Archaeological Lines of Evidence for the Study of Language
Evolution …………………...
96
9. Conclusion
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113
Works Cited
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118
About this Honors Thesis
Rights statement
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