| Description |
1 online resource |
| Contents |
Intro -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- 1 Prologue: The Strangest Story Ever -- 2 Teaching in Humans and Other Animals -- What Is Teaching? Do Birds and Bees Do It? -- The Special Case of Teaching in Humans -- Food for Thought -- Further Reading -- References -- 3 Not a "Third Chimpanzee" -- The Hominid Family Tree -- Evolution of Adaptive Suites -- Evolved Differences Between Chimpanzees and Humans -- Anatomical Differences -- Diet and Food Extraction Technologies -- Social and Sexual Arrangements -- Group Size and Social Dynamics |
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Chimpanzee Sex -- What's Love Got to Do with It? -- Differences in Life History -- Cognition, Communication, and Collaboration -- The Case of "Cooperative" Monkey Hunting -- Chimpanzee and Human Communication Compared -- A Note on the Issue of "Human Uniqueness" -- Food for Thought -- Suggested Reading -- References -- 4 An Evolutionary Explosion -- The Participants -- The Anatomy of an Explosion -- The Hominin Adaptive Suite -- Problems and Solutions -- Bipedalism as a Catalyst? -- Again, Why Only Us? -- Foraging, Territory and Diet -- Habitat, Bipedalism, and Pair Bonding |
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Selection Pressure for Enhanced Cognition -- Fueling a Supersized Brain: A Missing Piece -- Teaching as a Biocultural Activity -- Food for Thought -- Suggested Reading -- References -- 5 The Coevolution of Language, Brains, and Technology -- What Do We Mean by "Language?" -- The Relationship Between Language and Technology -- Evolution of Stone Tool Manufacture -- Tool Use in Ancient Hominins -- The Oldowan Tool Industry -- The Acheulean Tool Industry -- The "Human Revolution"4 -- The Mousterian Tool Industry -- When Did Language Emerge? -- Modern Onset (100,000-300,000 Years Ago) |
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Late Onset (500,000 Years) -- Ancient Onset (1.8 Million Years Ago) -- The Timing of Language Origins: A Synthesis -- On the Antiquity of Language -- On the Persistence of the Oldowan and Acheulean Tool Industries -- The Gathering Explosion -- So That's When, But How? -- Food for Thought -- Suggested Reading -- References -- 6 Pointing: The Royal Road to Language? -- Tipping Points in Dynamic Systems -- Disambiguated Pointing as a Tipping Point -- Language Precursors in Primates -- Primate Cognition -- Mindreading ("Theory of Mind") -- Primate Vocalization and Gesture -- Mitteilungsbedürfnis |
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Social Learning of Vocalizations and Gestures -- Turn Taking -- Symbolic Reference -- Language-Ready Brains -- Building Selection Pressure -- The Tipping Point -- A Spark Falls on a Patch of Dry Grass -- Runaway Change? -- A Return to Equilibrium -- Chapter Summary -- Food for Thought -- Suggested Reading -- References -- 7 Teaching from Childhood to Adulthood -- Teaching: Biology or Culture? -- The Supersized Brain Problem -- Life in Small-Scale Hunter-Gatherer Societies -- Age Structure of Hunter-Gather Residential Groups -- Hunter-Gatherer Childhoods |
| Summary |
"The story of how we humans came to be the way we are has been told many times, and new discoveries continue to prompt retellings. Seldom has the story been told with such verve. Donald Morrison explores the diverse evolutionary challenges, and the biocultural responses, that went to make our species. His message is that language, and teaching through language, is the linchpin that has come to hold the interlocking solutions together. He concludes by addressing the existential predicaments now facing us--the climate crisis, global inequality and the crisis of civil discourse--and challenges us to re-think how education and language can help us find a way through."--Chris Sinha, Hunan University, China "Morrison has contributed a fascinating, readable analysis of the coevolution of language, thought, and culture throughout the development of our species. Other researchers have examined aspects of this coevolution, but none have looked in such depth at the role of teaching in supporting the growth of language and culture. Morrison's new analysis is important not only for the light it casts on co-evolution, but also for the implications it has for our understanding of the roots of education in human nature and society." --Brian MacWhinney, Carnegie Mellon University, USA This book traces the evolutionary trajectory of language and teaching from the earliest periods of human evolution to the present day. The author argues that teaching is unique to humans and our ancestors, and that the evolution of teaching, language, and culture are the inextricably linked results of gene-culture coevolutionary processes. Drawing on related fields including archaeology, palaeontology, cultural anthropology, evolutionary psychology and linguistics, he makes the case that the need for joint attention and shared goals in complex adaptive strategies is the underlying driver for the evolution of language-like communication. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of the se disciplines, as well as lay readers with an interest in human origins. Donald M. Morrison is a teacher and educational researcher. He is currently a Research Assistant Professor at the Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis, USA |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Subject |
Language and languages -- Study and teaching -- Social aspects
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Language and languages -- Study and teaching -- Philosophy
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Teaching -- Philosophy
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Historical linguistics.
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historical linguistics.
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Language: reference & general.
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Evolution.
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Cognition & cognitive psychology.
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Semantics & pragmatics.
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Child & developmental psychology.
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Education.
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Language Arts & Disciplines -- Linguistics -- General.
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Science -- Life Sciences -- Evolution.
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Psychology -- Cognitive Psychology.
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Language Arts & Disciplines -- Linguistics -- Pragmatics.
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Psychology -- Developmental -- General.
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Education -- General.
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Historical linguistics
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Language and languages -- Study and teaching -- Social aspects
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Teaching -- Philosophy
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| ISBN |
9783030485436 |
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3030485439 |
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