Old Stone AgeIdeas & Belief
Complex language
c. 200,000 years agoTurning pointContested
Fully modern language likely emerges by this point (the timing is debated), enabling shared plans, teaching, stories and culture.
Contested history
Consensus: Language evolved at some point in the human lineage, but when is hard to pin down because speech leaves no fossils.
Gradual emergence over hundreds of thousands of yearsDebated by scholars
Neanderthals share the FOXP2 variant and vocal anatomy similar to ours, suggesting early roots.
Sudden emergence around 70,000 to 100,000 years agoDebated by scholars
Some linguists link a rapid shift to a single genetic change; critics say the archaeological record does not show a sharp break.
Community notes
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