Gossip is one kind between humans unique, intimate behavior, so to find its origin is very difficult. Here are a few more competitive argument, but as to what makes evolution such a way, still a mystery today, "gossip" of human behavior.
Meaningful complaints
What is gossip? Simply put, it is to discuss the everyday life of the people and things that appear in our conducted.
Gossip can become very malicious, but scientists tell us that gossip has its unique social value, it is like glue reinforces our circles.
Philosopher Julian Baggini said gossip is "moral assessment of others, examine the behavior of others and discuss the practices of others is good or bad, right or wrong."
Comes to the development of the evolution of gossip, formed the basis of the language is essential, but also difficult to determine the origin of language. According to some scientists estimate that the common ancestor of humans appeared in six million -1300 million years ago. We were also very primitive ancestors, brain size is very limited, so they direct way of communicating and perhaps very similar to today's chimpanzees - Use simple short grunts and pronunciation.
The latest study found that apes communicate complex than we imagined. Edinburgh, Scotland, was sent to a zoo chimpanzee after integration into the community quickly learned the common pronunciation of internal groups, such as "apple".
These sounds have a specific meaning, it allows us to catch a glimpse of the history of human language development. But these vague pronunciation gossip some distance.
Bigger brains
In addition to the evolution of language ability, our ancestors also need to evolve bigger brains to imagine, the process observed and information out to others through verbal (or other apes), then an exchange of views.
Homo erectus (Homo erectus) lived in the earliest dating back 1.8 million years ago in Africa, ancestry has significantly increased compared to their brain volume, Homo erectus was the first left Africa and spread to large areas of Asia and some parts of Europe, ancient Humanity. Increased brain capacity to allow them to complete more complex composition of society and promote the sound development of the language.
For the history of the language, we can only guess, because neither physical evidence nor can the fossil record of the original audio language. But since Homo erectus mastered audio language, human language have been further developed. 200,000 years ago, a kind of language ability is essential genes appeared in ancient human evolution, this time is considered to be Homo (Homo sapiens) appeared.
If the language in evolution probably so, following the turn of gossip this particular use of language behavior.
Strengthening ties
Gossip about the emergence in the 1990s, a statement made by the more popular: gossip humans need to consolidate social ties.
In primates, the holding between the individual and society are very important to enhance the emotional bond acts as a human wherein one is no exception. In one of our close relatives, the great apes is to use each other as opposites grooming, pick lice, etc. to enhance the emotional connection. Perhaps with ancient human behavior like them.
Initially, the rationale for the other hair, lice jump out to keep cleaning purposes. But it gradually began to have a social property in the primate evolutionary history. Professor Robin Dunbar from the University of Oxford, is the first hypothesis, said the emergence of gossip is to consolidate social ties people.
This is evidence of: for each other just to clean hair only takes a few minutes, but some primates for each other for several hours combing the hair, sometimes their behavior can occupy 1/5 days. In addition to health, this behavior may be the expression of mutual loyalty primates way.
Gossip predecessor is probably mutual grooming behavior of late, with the sound of human language began with interactive language instead of physical interaction. Through interactive language than the ancestral way there is a benefit: it "batch processing."
Circles monkeys and apes to establish a limited number, because grooming is a one to one, extremely time-consuming affair. Dunbar said that this inefficient social mechanism for determining the size of their population, "In the course of human evolution, in order to solve the many problems brought to us to survive, we need to grow their own populations, this time we need to introduce a more efficient mechanism."
This new mechanism is gossip. It takes advantage of the new tools of human: language, and one that more than one person to listen to high social efficiency, "once to get a group of people."
Hunting say
Professor Dunbar hypothesis proposed is considered to be a high probability statement. But remember, the story does not end here, because early humans also need other skills - not just greater brain capacity, language and social ties needs.
For hunting and forages, early humans need to cooperate with each other. Cooperation is the most efficient way to share information with the team to his knowledge, assigning roles - who is going to capture, who is going to kill the prey, who went to eat fruits and vegetables, who looks credible, who looks bad cooperation - in other words, this is the original form of gossip.
University of St. Andrews Klaus Zuberbuehler believe that when early human migration from the jungle to the vast prairie, collaborative hunting and foraging demand increases. This requires more advanced and more effective team collaboration accurate information sharing mechanism.
This demand is so strong and deep-rooted, even in today's children, we also find. Many children have not yet mastered the language at the time, I like to see the daily life of the interesting things with your fingers to others. Zuberbuehler said, because humans spread out the prize information needs, let gossip emerged.
Zuberbuehler said:. "For me, language is the product of this society needs you need to know which members of the population with whom, who with the help of chimpanzees who has no such requirement, and they only need to make sure companion. themselves together on the line, and to do this, large-signal, sounds and gestures perfectly adequate. "
This is the difference between the humans and apes is that humans gossip, exchange of relevant information and advice.
(Translation: keep_ via BBC)
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