the life logistic
In this week’s lecture and associated readings we have been looking at human evolution, with the aim of understanding the ecology that shaped the evolution of our species, but also in the hope that we might be able to glean some clues about when language evolved. Writing is a very recent invention (in the last 5-6 thousand years), while spoken language is, even by conservative estimates, much older. Spoken languages don’t leave direct traces in the archaeological record. However, it might be possible to make inferences about when language evolved, or whether some hominid population had language, if we can infer the presence of language from something that does show up in the archaeological record – tools, beads, ochre etc.
The question for this week’s debate is therefore: can we infer the presence (or absence) of language from the presence (or absence) of certain types of material culture in the archeological record? Once again, you’ll split into teams and (initially) argue for opposite positions. Team 1 will read a paper by Henshilwood & Dubreuil arguing that these kind of inferences can be made, team 2 will read a very sceptical response paper by Botha. The Blombos cave in South Africa features quite prominently in both papers, so you might want to check out the wikipedia page on that. As usual, spend some time staking out the positions, arguing against the other team, then come together and figure out how to weigh up the various considerations you have discussed.
When summarising the readings, you can use the following questions to structure your thinking:
Significance: What does this paper contribute to the discipline?
Main question: What is the main question this paper addresses?
Method: Is the method appropriate to test that hypothesis?
Discussion/implications: Are the results discussed in the light of the literature? Are the broader implications of the study discussed?
The readings are: