The University of Liverpool Evolutionary Anthropology Webinar Series presents Prof. Peter Gärdenfors, Lund University.

Thursday 3a October 2024 13:00 - 14:00

Title: From Demonstration to Pantomime to Protolanguage: The Role of Teaching in the Evolution of Language.

Peter Gärdenfors about the webinar: The lecture builds on the view that teaching in hominin societies of growing complexity drove the evolution of language (rather than language opening op for teaching). I will start by presenting a classification of different levels of teaching. To some extent, these levels are connected to the development of different technologies. Demonstrating how to do something may be the first form of intentional teaching. This form later evolved to pantomime. I distinguish between pantomime for teaching and pantomime for communication and argue that pantomime for teaching is evolutionarily older. By conventionalization, pantomime for communication then gradually evolved into protolanguage involving a combination of gestures and vocalizations.