Overview
A top scholar reveals the most complete picture to date of how early human speech led to the languages we use todayāÆĀ
The emergence of language began with the apelike calls of our earliest ancestors. Today, the world is home to thousands of complex languages. Yet exactly how, when, and why this evolution occurred has been one of the most enduringāand contentiously debatedāquestions in science.āÆĀ
In The Language Puzzle, renowned archaeologist Steven Mithen puts forward a groundbreaking new account of the origins of language. Scientists have gained new insights into the first humans of 2.8 million years ago, and how numerous species flourished but only one, Homo sapiens, survives today. Drawing from this work and synthesizing research across archaeology, psychology, linguistics, genetics, neuroscience, and more,āÆMithenāÆdetails a step-by-step explanation of how our human ancestors transitioned from apelike calls to words, and from words to language as we use it today. He explores how language shaped our cognition and vice versa; how metaphor advanced Homo sapiensā ability to formulate abstract concepts, develop agriculture, andāultimatelyāshape the world. The result is a master narrative that builds bridges between disciplines, stuns with its breadth and depth, and spans millennia of societal development.
Deeply researched and brilliantly told, The Language Puzzle marks aāÆseminal understanding of the evolution of language.āÆĀ
This book title, The Language Puzzle (Piecing Together the Six-Million-Year Story of How Words Evolved), ISBN: 9781541605381, by Steven Mithen, published by Basic Books (June 18, 2024) is available in hardcover. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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