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EXAPTATION OF CIRCUITS. “Even if language evolved to use circuits not originally linguistic in function, these hijacked circuits would likely also represent modifications of nonhuman-specific circuitry. Thus, studying brain and behavior in nonhuman primates is actually central to understanding human language evolution.” https://lnkd.in/dvz_XvBp View in LinkedIn

SURPRISE FINDING. “We further find that for similar range of halo masses at z = 8, the halo masses of the low-redshift descendants of the least massive high-redshift black holes at z = 0 have a distribution similar to those of the descendants of most massive high-redshift black holes. Consistent with our results…the most luminous quasars do not live in the most massive haloes.” https://lnkd.in/dX4w36NJ View in LinkedIn

RECENT ADVANCES. “In the last decade a new synthesis of modern linguistics, cognitive neuroscience and neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory has begun to make important contributions to our understanding of the biology and evolution of language.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

STAR GENEOLOGY. “Our main finding is that the rare quasars with the most massive black holes do not have the most massive low-redshift descendants.” https://lnkd.in/dX4w36NJ View in LinkedIn

SOCIALLY DRIVEN. “Increasing sociality provided the central usefulness for language in the first place and drove its evolution.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

GRAMMAR PROOFREADING. “We argue that grammar originated as a simplified rule system that evolved by natural selection to reduce mistakes in communication. Our theory provides a systematic approach for thinking about the origin and evolution of human language.” https://lnkd.in/d_bJcG9t View in LinkedIn

UNLIMITED COMBINATIONS. “The process of “word formation” enables a language to encode an essentially unlimited number of objects.” https://lnkd.in/d_bJcG9t View in LinkedIn

SMALL LEXICON KEY. “We model the probability of misunderstanding a signal and show that this limits the number of objects that can be described by a protolanguage. This “error limit” is not overcome by employing more sounds but by combining a small set of more easily distinguishable sounds into words.” https://lnkd.in/d_bJcG9t View in LinkedIn

MUDDY ORIGINS. “For many years the evolution of language has been seen as a disreputable topic, mired in fanciful ‘‘just so stories’’ about language origins.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

SALTATION. “The emergence of language was a defining moment in the evolution of modern humans. It was an innovation that changed radically the character of human society.” https://lnkd.in/d_bJcG9t View in LinkedIn