Media Release: First modern Homo sapiens to speak was a male
The first member of our species to start on the path to language was a male according to a new theory on the origins of modern Homo sapiens, outlined in a book published by the British Academy today.
The conclusion is part of the first genetic theory to describe what makes our species unique. Experts from archaeology, palaeontology, linguistics, psychology, genetics and evolutionary theory outline the evidence that the rise of modern Homo sapiens was crucially defined by our capacity for language. Although women now acquire words faster on average, a male was probably the first member to initiate the change that led to our capacity for language. A key component of this language ability is focused in the left hemisphere of the human brain and a specific gene called protocadherinXY is claimed to play a crucial role in this language-capacity. It is this gene that can be said to define our species.
According to this view the emergence of H. sapiens from its ancestors was more abrupt than Darwin envisaged. For Charles Darwin and many of his subsequent followers, man's evolution from the great apes, as a species transition, was a process that was continuous and gradual. But according to the authors it is possible that 100-150,000 years ago there was an evolutionary 'jump' that gave rise relatively abruptly to our species.
'It is difficult for humans to take an objective view of our origins,' says Professor Tim Crow, editor of the volume. 'Perhaps this is why the nature of the genetic transition to modern man has not previously been addressed. Yet looking at the origin of our species may make us have to reconsider aspects of evolutionary theory. This book is the first to directly address the question of the speciation of modern Homo sapiens and our hypothesis makes a start in understanding what is characteristic of the human brain.'
NOTES TO EDITORS
Published:
20 September 2002
- The Speciation of Modern Homo sapiens, edited by Dr Tim J. Crow (Proceedings of the British Academy, Volume 106), price £29.50, ISBN 0-19-726246-5. Review copies are available from Ruth Ormston, Oxford University Press; Tel: 01865 353256; Email: ormstonr@oup.co.uk or for information on how to order a copy see the Academy website
- Dr Tim Crow, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford is available for interview. He is an eminent psychiatrist, researcher and member of the Medical Research Council's External Research Staff. Telephone: 01865 226474; Email: tim.crow@psychiatry.oxford.ac.uk
- The British Academy, established by Royal Charter in 1902, is an independent learned society promoting the humanities and social sciences. It is composed of Fellows elected in recognition of their distinction as scholars in the humanities and social sciences.