Re: Human speech 350,000 years ago?

On Fri, 2 Jul 2004 18:35:25 -0400 (GMT-04:00) dickfischer@earthlink.net
writes:
>
> <snip>
> I think you could conclude that it would be unlikely that the sort
> of conversations in Genesis attributed to Adam, Eve, Cain and
> Tubal-Cain in the pre-flood period could have been verbalized prior
> to the Neolithic.
>

Dick,
I would suggest that you check Blombos Cave, South Africa, which has many
Internet sites devoted to it. Its inhabitants had bone awls, bifacial
points, shell beads and carved stones at least 75,000 years ago. There is
rather clear evidence that they painted themselves with ochre. This comes
from the Middle Paleolithic, which will be followed by the Upper
Paleolithic before reaching the Neolithic. Of course, you may prefer to
claim that the Upper Paleolithic arrived at Blombos Cave 30,000 years
early.

It strikes me that it would be impossible to have the sophisticated
artifacts of the cave without fairly advanced language. I grant that they
did not speak of plows, crops and smiths, but such terms are not the
_sine qua non_ of competent communication.
Dave
Received on Sat Jul 3 00:15:12 2004