Group of Paleoanthropology, anthropology and origin of language
Fondazione Massimo Fagioli
Pivotal moments and factors which brought specific human capabilities into emergence – e.g.,artistic creativity, symbolic thought and verbal language – have always been difficult to catch, even by the most recent and advanced studies in Paleoanthropology, Linguistics, Psychology, Genetics,Evolutionary and Molecular Biology etc. Our project aims to investigate the reasons for this impasse by interviewing researchers of the above mentioned subjects to whom a set of questions will be posed, specifically dealing with the origin of the artistic expression (inclusive of the mostprimitive graphics), language, writing and their link with technological innovation, the connection between biological and cultural evolution, the presence and role of violence, the beginning ofmagical-religious thought. By examining and comparing their answers, we intend to investigate how the Human Birth Theory would put unanswered questions into a different perspective, while providing a new momentum for the research. The answers will be included and commented into avolume.
Bibliography
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- Langley MC et al., Playing with language, creating complexity: Has play contributed tothe evolution of complex language?, Evolutionary Anthropology, 29:29-40, 2020
- Leongomez JD et al., Musicality in human vocal communication: an evolutionaryperspective, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 377: 20200391, 2021
- Malafouris L et al., Mark Making and Human Becoming, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 28:95–119, 2021
- Zwir I et al., Evolution of genetic networks for human creativity, Molecular Psychiatry27:354–376, 2022
