Constraining the Time When Language Evolved

Johansson, Sverker

doi:10.1142/9789812774262_0020

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…These and other similar finds lend substantial support to the theory of progressive development of symbolic behavior and complex imagery along with the evolution of modern human anatomy (Barnard 2012 ; Conard 2010 ; Deino and McBrearty 2002 ; d’Errico and Stringer 2011 ; McBrearty and Brooks 2000 ; Zilhão 2007 ). Pleistocene hunter-gatherers would most likely have possessed both the cognitive and communicative skills to share religious beliefs and practices prior to dispersal out of Africa more than 60 kya (Fu et al 2013 ; Henn et al 2012 ; Johansson 2011 ; Lind et al 2013 ). Although present-day hunter-gatherers are not direct analogues of those early societies and may not be direct, unbroken descendants of ancestral hunter-gatherers, they can provide a window onto traits selected for in the Pleistocene (Marlowe 2005 ), including traits of early religion.…”

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confidence: 99%

Hunter-Gatherers and the Origins of Religion

Peoples

Duda

Marlowe

2016

Hum Nat

122

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Recent studies of the evolution of religion have revealed the cognitive underpinnings of belief in supernatural agents, the role of ritual in promoting cooperation, and the contribution of morally punishing high gods to the growth and stabilization of human society. The universality of religion across human society points to a deep evolutionary past. However, specific traits of nascent religiosity, and the sequence in which they emerged, have remained unknown. Here we reconstruct the evolution of religious beliefs and behaviors in early modern humans using a global sample of hunter-gatherers and seven traits describing hunter-gatherer religiosity: animism, belief in an afterlife, shamanism, ancestor worship, high gods, and worship of ancestors or high gods who are active in human affairs. We reconstruct ancestral character states using a time-calibrated supertree based on published phylogenetic trees and linguistic classification and then test for correlated evolution between the characters and for the direction of cultural change. Results indicate that the oldest trait of religion, present in the most recent common ancestor of present-day hunter-gatherers, was animism, in agreement with long-standing beliefs about the fundamental role of this trait. Belief in an afterlife emerged, followed by shamanism and ancestor worship. Ancestor spirits or high gods who are active in human affairs were absent in early humans, suggesting a deep history for the egalitarian nature of hunter-gatherer societies. There is a significant positive relationship between most characters investigated, but the trait “high gods” stands apart, suggesting that belief in a single creator deity can emerge in a society regardless of other aspects of its religion.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12110-016-9260-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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confidence: 99%

Hunter-Gatherers and the Origins of Religion

Peoples

Duda

Marlowe

2016

Hum Nat

122

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“…At present, this constitutes the earliest plausible evidence of symbolism. As mentioned above, the time when language evolved was previously constrained to 500 ... 5000 kya (Johansson, 2006).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symbol and its evolution

Luuk¹

2018

Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on the Evolution of Language (Evolang12)

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The paper investigates the problem of tracing the emergence of symbolism in the Homo lineage. We define the symbol via the notions of arbitrary and spatiotemporally displaced reference, and analyze the earliest manifestations of different forms of symbolism: color, figurative, abstract (in the form of codes, other signs, and ritual burials), and (proto)language. Besides symbols themselves, diverse physical and behavioral traits that might constitute a circumstantial evidence for symbolism are scrutinized. Drawing on archaeological and fossil evidence, a plausible time for the emergence of symbol in protolanguage is estimated to be 850 ... 2200 kya.

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“…Indeed, human‐specific adaptations for language, such as the shaping of the vocal tract and the inner ear, appear in Homo heidelbergensis fossils. Language evolved no later than 400,000 years ago, possibly as early as 1 million years ago (Johansson ).…”

Section: Symbolic Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

THE IMAGO DEI AS A WORK IN PROGRESS: A PERSPECTIVE FROM PALEOANTHROPOLOGY

Smedt¹,

Cruz²

2014

Zygon

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This article considers the imago Dei from the perspective of paleoanthropology. We identify structural, functional, and relational elements of the imago Dei that emerged mosaically during human evolution. Humans are unique in their ability to relate to each other and to God, and in their membership of cultural communities where shared attention, the transmission of moral norms, and symbolic behavior are important elements. We discuss similarities between our approach and the concept of theosis adopted in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

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Constraining the Time When Language Evolved

Cited by 8 publications

References 55 publications

Hunter-Gatherers and the Origins of Religion

Hunter-Gatherers and the Origins of Religion

Symbol and its evolution

THE IMAGO DEI AS A WORK IN PROGRESS: A PERSPECTIVE FROM PALEOANTHROPOLOGY

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