Re: broca's brain

GRMorton@AOL.COM
Mon, 9 Oct 1995 22:07:22 -0400

Bill Hamilton wrote:
>> But has broca's area always been used for speech in
hominids? It seems to me there are other examples of structures being used
for one purpose early in evolutionary history and being approproated for
another purpose later.
Perhaps this isn't a fair objection, but I am curious about how,
methodologically, one concludes that a structure found in a fossil was used
for a particular purpose, when we know a great deal of adaptation has been
proceeding for many years.<<

Any objection is fair. In answer to your point, there is no way to know if
they used it for other activities. The only beings that have it are man and
the hominids. If some rat had it and used it for something else then there
would be observational evidence that it once had other uses. Unfortunately
we all have only one data point--modern humans. They use it for speech.
There is certainly a possibility that it was used for something else,
but no way to know.

glenn