| Date | Presenter |
Title |
| Tue, Apr 19 |
Professor of linguistics emeritus, University of New Hampshire ; Visiting Colleague, University of Hawai’i at Manoa |
Homo Floresiensis, FOXP2, and the evolution of the human capacity
for
Analysis of brain endocasts of hominid fossils suggest that language and the expansion of the brain in the human line may have co-evolved. On the other hand, a recent genetic analysis of FOXP2, a gene important for language (Enard et al. 2002) suggested a very recent date for the human mutations in that gene (even "subsequent to" the emergence of anatomically modern humans). This conflict is highlighted by the analysis this month (Falk et al. 2005) of the brain endocast of Homo floresiensis, a diminutive species of human with a small brain whose skeleton (dated to 18,000 years ago) was found associated with sophisticated stone tools. There are serious problems with Enard et al.'s recent date for the FOXP2 mutations, and a reanalysis will suggest a more ancient date that is compatible with the view that language and brain growth coevolved. |
