Confrontational scavenging as a possible source for language and cooperation

Bickerton, Derek; Szathmáry, Eörs

doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-261

Cited by 56 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…The confrontational scavenging scenario (101,102) argues that the rudiments of human language coevolved in Homo erectus with the beginning of general cooperation (where individuals were not necessarily closely related; see SI Text, The Confrontational Scavenging Scenario for further details). It was language, with its unlimited hereditary potential, that opened up the possibility of open-ended cumulative cultural evolution, also specific to humans.…”

Section: The Origin Of Multicellularity: Fraternal and Egalitarianmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward major evolutionary transitions theory 2.0

Szathmáry

2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The impressive body of work on the major evolutionary transitions in the last 20 y calls for a reconstruction of the theory although a 2D account (evolution of informational systems and transitions in individuality) remains. Significant advances include the concept of fraternal and egalitarian transitions (lower-level units like and unlike, respectively). Multilevel selection, first without, then with, the collectives in focus is an important explanatory mechanism. Transitions are decomposed into phases of origin, maintenance, and transformation (i.e., further evolution) of the higher level units, which helps reduce the number of transitions in the revised list by two so that it is less top-heavy. After the transition, units show strong cooperation and very limited realized conflict. The origins of cells, the emergence of the genetic code and translation, the evolution of the eukaryotic cell, multicellularity, and the origin of human groups with language are reconsidered in some detail in the light of new data and considerations. Arguments are given why sex is not in the revised list as a separate transition. Some of the transitions can be recursive (e.g., plastids, multicellularity) or limited (transitions that share the usual features of major transitions without a massive phylogenetic impact, such as the microand macronuclei in ciliates). During transitions, new units of reproduction emerge, and establishment of such units requires high fidelity of reproduction (as opposed to mere replication).egalitarian transitions | fraternal transitions | multilevel selection | aggregative unit formation | recursive transitions T he book The Major Transitions in Evolution was published 20 y ago (1) and popularized 16 y ago (2). The impressive work accomplished by the interested community has made time ripe for a resynthesis of the field. In this paper, I outline the revised theory for transitions research while noting that the full account can be taken only in a new book. First, I present the key points of the theory, followed by an impressionist overview of some of the transitions, highlighting (without being all-inclusive) some of the most exciting findings pertinent to the major transitions in a revised list. In doing so, I rebuild some of the foundations of the theory. A scholarly account of all relevant contributions is beyond the scope of the present paper. For lack of space, I deliberately omit discussion on the origin of animal societies (3), except humans.

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Section: The Origin Of Multicellularity: Fraternal and Egalitarianmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward major evolutionary transitions theory 2.0

Szathmáry

2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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324

343

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“…those individuals not yet aware) of an imminent danger (Crockford et al, , ). Cooperative contexts or situations in which the signaller has in fact no or only a limited direct benefit from signalling might therefore be a fruitful avenue to address declarative communication, such as social object play, tool use, scavenging (Bickerton & Szathmáry, ) or alarm calling.…”

Section: Cognitive Mechanisms Identified In Non‐human Gestures and Vomentioning

confidence: 99%

Multimodal communication and language origins: integrating gestures and vocalizations

et al. 2019

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The presence of divergent and independent research traditions in the gestural and vocal domains of primate communication has resulted in major discrepancies in the definition and operationalization of cognitive concepts. However, in recent years, accumulating evidence from behavioural and neurobiological research has shown that both human and non‐human primate communication is inherently multimodal. It is therefore timely to integrate the study of gestural and vocal communication. Herein, we review evidence demonstrating that there is no clear difference between primate gestures and vocalizations in the extent to which they show evidence for the presence of key language properties: intentionality, reference, iconicity and turn‐taking. We also find high overlap in the neurobiological mechanisms producing primate gestures and vocalizations, as well as in ontogenetic flexibility. These findings confirm that human language had multimodal origins. Nonetheless, we note that in great apes, gestures seem to fulfil a carrying (i.e. predominantly informative) role in close‐range communication, whereas the opposite holds for face‐to‐face interactions of humans. This suggests an evolutionary shift in the carrying role from the gestural to the vocal stream, and we explore this transition in the carrying modality. Finally, we suggest that future studies should focus on the links between complex communication, sociality and cooperative tendency to strengthen the study of language origins.

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“…Potential encounter rates for scavenging hominins have largely not been explicitly modeled, although Blumenschine found seasonal differences in the absolute number of and amount of flesh available on abandoned medium‐sized carcasses in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro . Based on elephant population densities in two African national parks, one study suggests Homo erectus would have encountered a dead elephant at least every month over an area of 1000km 2 —in addition to other large animals, of course …”

Section: How Much Meat and Marrow Would Scavenging Early Hominins Havmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If hominins discovered carcasses in different locations on the landscape than where the stone needed to process those carcasses were located, as well as in different locations than preferred plant foods, scavenging may have selected for characteristics including social cooperation, planning depth, and detailed mental mapping . Successful confrontational scavenging would have yielded immediate, tangible proof of the benefits of cooperation: a steady supply of high‐quality nutrients . Once the benefits of cooperation were established in one sphere, cooperative strategies would have likely spread to other behavioral domains and increases in cooperation could have selected for genes that promoted cooperation or suppressed strongly competitive behaviors .…”

Section: What May Have Been Some Potential Behavioral Consequences Ofmentioning

confidence: 99%

The zooarchaeology and paleoecology of early hominin scavenging

Pobiner

2020

Evolutionary Anthropology

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Questions about the timing, frequency, resource yield, and behavioral and biological implications of large animal carcass acquisition by early hominins have been a part of the “hunting‐scavenging debate” for decades. This article presents a brief outline of this debate, reviews the zooarchaeological and modern ecological evidence for a possible scavenging niche among the earliest animal tissue‐consuming hominins (pre‐2.0 Ma), revisits some of the questions that this debate has generated, and outlines some ways to explore answers to those questions with evidence from the archaeological record.

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Confrontational scavenging as a possible source for language and cooperation

Cited by 56 publications

References 49 publications

Toward major evolutionary transitions theory 2.0

Toward major evolutionary transitions theory 2.0

Multimodal communication and language origins: integrating gestures and vocalizations

The zooarchaeology and paleoecology of early hominin scavenging

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