From the origin of language to the diversification of languages (original) (raw)

2009, Advances in the emergence of language, human cognition, and modern cultures

Can agent-based language evolution contribute to archeology? Luc Steels Index The contributions presented in this volume are intended to depict a panorama of the topics explored by various research teams in the framework of the OMLL programme, to summarize new relevant data and emerging theories, to provide an updated view of this interdisciplinary venture, and, when possible, to provide directions for future research. In their variety, the collected papers cover the original call for proposals and reflect the multiplicity of interests and research strategy used to tackle this complex issue. It is obvious that the papers included in this volume do not cover all aspects of research in the vast scientific area of the EUROCORES Programme "The Origin of  Jean-Marie Hombert and Francesco d'Errico engraved or painted representations, personal ornaments, burial practices, musical traditions, anatomy and encephalization. The authors' argument contradicts the hypothesis of a symbolic revolution coinciding with the arrival of anatomically modern humans in Europe some 40,000 years ago and highlights inconsistencies in the anatomically-culturally modern equation and the potential contribution of anatomically "pre-modern" human populations to the emergence of these abilities. The so-called "Neolithic revolution" has had a major impact on population growth and human migrations. It involved domestication of plants and animals. In their article Tresset, Bollongino, Edwards, Hughes and Vigne examine the early diffusion of bovids in Europe as a trace of human migrations, contacts and exchanges. By investigating the localisation of wild ancestors and process of dissemination of different species they show that different processes took place. Sheep and goats had no wild ancestors in Europe, consequently domesticated sheep and goats can be considered as good tracers for the expansion of farming advance or at least of Neolithic influence. Cattle and pigs on the other hand had potential ancestors in Europe which means that independent local domestication or hybridization with animals imported from the Near East was possible. Genetic data indicate that domesticated sheep, goats and cattle were introduced in Europe with no interaction with local populations for goats and sheep or very little in the case of bovines. For pigs, the process was very different; a first introduction from the Near East was followed by a local domestication of the wild boar leading to the disappearance of the original Eastern lineages. Language and genes Genetic data from modern populations have been used to provide dates for the emergence of anatomically modern humans and to locate their continent of origin. They have also been used to infer information concerning more recent population movements. On the basis of linguistic data collected from modern languages it is possible to reconstruct earlier groupings of currently spoken languages into language families and thus infer population movements associated with these language groupings. In this volume, four geographical/linguistic areas are investigated: West-Central Africa, Northern Africa, Central Asia and the Himalayas. These studies illustrate the complexity of the relationship between genes and languages and clearly show that a better understanding of such historical scenarios will only be possible with the joint contribution of linguistic and genetic research. Van der Veen, Quintana-Murci and Comas focus on West-Central Africa and address issues related to the so-called "Bantu expansion" and more specifically to 