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Human brain evolution
Article By:
Gannon, Patrick J. Department of Science Education, Hofstra North Shore–Long Island Jewish School of Medicine, Hempstead, New York.
Last reviewed:2015
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB150959
A much sought after challenge in anthropology is to understand better the evolution of the human brain and, in particular, to decode the nature of changes that provided for our unique form of language. The term language can be used quite broadly; it can encompass the dance language of honey bees, the sign language of elephants, the language of whales, and the languages of chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans (which, along with humans, comprise the great apes). These latter large-brained groups come closer to attaining the higher cognitive levels of sophisticated multisensory communication that are in place for our species.
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