RECENT ADAPTIVE EVOLUTION OF HUMAN GENES RELATED TO HEARING

摘要

Language requires not only a detailed anatomical and neurological system oflanguage production, but also a highly adapted system of reception. Listeningentails hearing. Yet theories of language origins have made very little referenceto the sense of hearing. For example, a review of 8 recent books about languageorigins finds none that even have "hearing" listed in the index. This apparentblind spot is defensible in terms of comparative biology: other primates also havesophisticated patterns of vocal communication that would require highly adaptedhearing faculties. Moreover, the brain organs that enable language production andperception would seem to have followed a more unique evolutionary pathway inhumans than the primary auditory apparatus.