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The 1.6 million-year-old discovery that changes what we know about human evolution

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The 1.6 million-year-old discovery that changes what we know about human evolution
Story by David Keys •

New research has pinpointed the likely time in prehistory when humans first began to speak.

Analysis by British archaeologist Steven Mithen suggests that early humans first developed rudimentary language around 1.6 million years ago – somewhere in eastern or southern Africa.

“Humanity’s development of the ability to speak was without doubt the key which made much of subsequent human physical and cultural evolution possible. That’s why dating the emergence of the earliest forms of language is so important,” Dr Mithen, professor of early prehistory at the University of Reading, told The Independent.

Until recently, most human evolution experts thought humans only started speaking around 200,000 years ago. Professor Mithen’s new research, published this month, suggests that rudimentary human language is at least eight times older. His analysis is based on a detailed study of all the available archaeological, paleo-anatomical, genetic, neurological and linguistic evidence.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/the-1-6-million-year-old-discovery-that-changes-what-we-know-about-human-evolution/ar-BB1k6k9T?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=72851fa4134d445080a794380a656370&ei=66

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