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Did courtship drive the evolution of mind?

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Commentary onMerlinDonald (1993) Précis of Origins of the modern mind: Three stages in the evolution of culture and cognition. BBS 16: 737–791

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2010

Eric B. Baum
Eric B. Baum
Affiliation:
NEC Research Institute, 4 Independence Way, Princeton, NJ 08540erlc@research.hj.nec.com
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Abstract

The driving force in the evolution of language and the human mind was the advantage gained in courtship by efficient communicators. Ontogeny recapitulating phylogeny may offer an alternative to Donald's picture of the relative origins of language and mimesis. Very recent evidence is pertinent to dating the origin of language.

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Type
Continuing Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , March 1996, pp. 155 - 156
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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