A stone's throw and its launch window: Timing precision and its implications for language and hominid brains
Did bigger brains for more precise throwing lead to language, much as feathers for insulation may have set the stage for bird flight? Throwing rocks even at stationary prey requires great precision in the timing of rock release from an overarm throw, with the “launch window” narrowing eight-fold whe...
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Published in | Journal of theoretical biology Vol. 104; no. 1; pp. 121 - 135 |
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Main Author | |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
England
Elsevier Ltd
07.09.1983
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Did bigger brains for more precise throwing lead to language, much as feathers for insulation may have set the stage for bird flight? Throwing rocks even at stationary prey requires great precision in the timing of rock release from an overarm throw, with the “launch window” narrowing eight-fold when the throwing distance is doubled from a beginner's throw. Paralleled timing neurons can overcome the usual neural noise limitations via the law of large numbers, suggesting that enhanced throwing skill could have produced a strong selection pressure for any evolutionary trends that provided additional timing neurons. This enhanced timing circuitry may have developed secondary uses for language reception and production. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0022-5193 1095-8541 |
DOI: | 10.1016/0022-5193(83)90405-8 |