ANTH 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Myelin, Encephalization Quotient, Beringia
Document Summary
Bering land bridge (from siberia) open after 15 kya, interior corridor later 14-13 kya. Followed herds of pleistocene megafauna along ice-free corridors. Spoken usually using words, but people can whistle it, play it on instruments, sign it, write it. Phonemic: words composed of sound elements from a set. Grammatical: set of rules for use of word classes. Reliably develops, appreciate the system of language. Observation that creoles and pidgins around the world seem to converge on basic linguistic structure, however not evidence of a universal grammar . Can also use recursion: stop a phrase and moving on to another subject. Depends on keeping track of multiple ideas, objects, intentions, or processes at the same time. Based on aspects of language: prosodic tonality, emphasis, phrasing in tonal and rhythmic patterns. Speech surrogate: useful for oral transmission of info (educational), useful for communication in special environments (among predators or prey) Has shaped the specialized features of the human throat.
