Book
The origin of language : how we learned to speak and why / Madeleine Beekman.
In a radical new story about the birth of our species, The Origin of Language argues that it was not hunting, fighting, or tool-making that forced early humans to speak, but the inescapable need to care for our children. Journeying to the dawn of Homo sapiens, evolutionary biologist Madeleine Beekman reveals the "happy accidents" hidden in our molecular biology--DNA, chromosomes, and proteins--that led to one of the most fateful events in the history of life on Earth: our giving birth to babies earlier in their development than our hominid cousins the Neanderthals and Denisovans. Faced with highly dependent infants requiring years of nurturing and protection, early human communities needed to cooperate and coordinate, and it was this unprecedented need for communication that triggered the creation of human language--and changed everything.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781668066058
- ISBN: 166806605X
- Physical Description: viii, 308 pages : illustration ; 22 cm
- Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
- Publisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, 2025.
- Copyright: ©2025
Content descriptions
- Bibliography, etc. Note:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-296) and index.
Search for related items by subject
- Subject:
- Language and languages > Origin.
Historical linguistics.
Human evolution. - Genre:
- Informational works.
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Town of Hanover Libraries.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etna Library | 417.7 BEE | 31257000336569 | New items | Available | - |