Today's (Aug. 8) issue of Cell includes a report on the complete mitochondrial-DNA sequencing of a 38,000 year old Neanderthal. From that feat the very large team of authors conclude that the last human-Neanderthal common ancestor lived 660 thousand years ago, give or take 140 thousand years (i.e, 800 to 520 thousand years ago).
Last March, this blog reported on a presentation in Barcelona by Francisco D'Errico demonstrating evidence that Neanderthals had language. (See: here). Thus, the biological support for language goes back to at least 520/800 thousand years ago.
This finding is in keeping with evidence reported earlier that an 800 thousand year old hyoid bone indicates the human lineage was speaking by that time. (See: here)
"evidence reported earlier that an 800 thousand year old hyoid bone indicates the human lineage was speaking by that time"—
I'd be happier with a more logically consistent formulation: "that the human lineage had a hyoid structure compatible with the existence of speech", or "probably had a laryngeal structure which might enable speech". The existence of a tool does not prove that the tool was being used for a particular purpose YET: that's the principle of exaptation.
Posted by: JoseAngel | September 14, 2008 at 09:37 PM
"The existence of a tool does not prove that the tool was being used for a particular purpose"
Do you have an alternate purpose/s to explain its appearance? Or are you proposing a drift situation?
Posted by: JanetK | September 16, 2008 at 05:03 AM