Nonverbal Steps to the Origins of Language [Hardcover]

Acknowledgments  Prologue: Nonverbal Steps to the Origin of Language  Chapter 1: Step 1 (3.7 Billion Years Ago): Chemical MessagesI Am Here  Chapter 2: Step 2 (500 Million Years Ago): Vertebrate MessagesI Am Here (Advent of I/Me)  Chapter 3:  Step 3 (500 Million Years Ago): Vertebrate MessagesYou Are There (Advent of You)  Chapter 4: Step 4 (150 Million Years Ago): Mammalian Emotion  Chapter 5: Step 5 (150 Million Years Ago): Mammalian Acrobatic Tongue  Chapter 6: Step 6 (65 Million Years Ago): Primate Binocular Vision  Chapter 7: Step 7 (65 Million Years Ago): Primate Grasping Hands  Chapter 8: Step 8 (65 Million Years Ago): Primate Dexterous Lips  Chapter 9: Step 9 (3540 Million Years Ago): Higher Primate Facial Communication  Chapter 10: Step 10 (24 Million Years Ago): Primate Food Sharing  Chapter 11: Step 11 (2.6 Million Years Ago): Human Tool Making  Chapter 12: Step 12 (1.9 Million Years Ago): Object Fancy  Chapter 13: Step 13 (1.9 Million Years Ago): PointingIt Is There (Advent of That)  Chapter 14: Step 14 (1.9 Million Years Ago): Human Cranial Capacity Increase  Chapter 15: Step 15 (200 Thousand Years Ago): Sonorous Human Larynx  Chapter 16: Conclusion: Language Migration, Visual to Vocal  Epilogue Index

Nonverbal Steps to the Origins of Language examines the origin and development of human language through the seemingly paradoxical lens of nonverbal communication. Taking an evolutionary stance, it identifies and explores 15 sequential nonverbal steps that cumulatively enabled modern linguistic communication in Homo sapiens.