Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T06:37:15.605Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Neocortical size and language

Review products

Commentary onOunbarR. I. M. (1993) Coevolution of neocortical size, group size and language in humans. BBS 16:681–735.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2010

R. I. M. Dunbar
R. I. M. Dunbar
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, P.O. Box 147, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK. [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In my target article, I argued (1) that the relationship between neocortical size and group size in primates implies that there is a cognitive limit on the size of human groups, and (2) that time constraints forced the evolution of language as a more efficient means of bonding the large groups that humans evolved. The doubts about these claims raised by these additional commentaries largely reflect misinterpretation of my original claims.

Type
Author's Response
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , June 1995 , pp. 388 - 389
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aiello, L. C. & Dunbar, R. I. M. (1993) Neocortex size, group size and the evolution of language. Current Anthropology 34:184–93. [RIMD]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beckers, R., Gross, S., Deneubourg, J. L. & Pasteels, J. M. (1989) Colony size, communication and ant foraging strategies. Psyche 96:239–56. [KJ]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradshaw, J. L. & Rogers, L. J. (1993) The evolution of lateral asymmetries, language, tool use and intellect. Academic Press. [JB]Google Scholar
Broadbent, D. E. (1958) Perception and Community. Pergamon Press. [RLS]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carpenter, C. Ray (1964/1942) Societies of monkeys and apes. In Naturalistic behavior of nonhuman primates, ed. Carpenter, C. R.. Pennsylvania State University Press. [NST]Google Scholar
Cohen, J. E. (1971) Casual groups of monkeys and men. Harvard University Press. [RIMD]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corballis, M. C. (1991) The lopsided ape. Oxford University Press. [JB]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunbar, R. I. M. (1993) Coevolution of neocortical size and language in humans. Behavior and Brain Sciences 16:681–735. [KJ, NST]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fodor, J. A. (1983) The modularity of mind. MIT Press. [JB]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jaffe, K. (1984) Negentropy and the evolution of chemical recruitment in ants. Journal of Theoretical Biology 106:587–604. [KJ]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jaffe, K. & Perez, E. (1989) Comparative study of brain morphology in ants. Brain Behavioral Evolution 33:25–33 [KJ]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jaffe, K. & Deneubourg, J. L. (1992) On the foraging, recruitment systems and optimum number of scouts in eusocial colonies. Insect Society 39:201–13 [KJ]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jaffe, K. & Hebling-Beraldo, M. J. (1993) Oxygen consumption and the evolution of order: Negentropy criteria applied to the evolution of ants.Experientia 49:587–92. [KJ]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hauser, M. D. & Fowler, C. (1991) Declination in fundamental frequency is not unique to human speech. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 91:363–69. [RIMD]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Killworth, P. D., Bernard, H. R. & McCarty, C. (1984) Measuring patterns of acquaintanceship. Current Anthropology 25:391–97. [RIMD]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kudo, H., Bloom, S. & Dunbar, R. I. M. (in preparation) Neocortex size as a constraint on social network size in primates. [RIMD]Google Scholar
Miller, C. A. (1956) The magic number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review 63:81–97. [RLS]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Richman, B. (1976) Some vocal distinctive features used by gelada monkeys. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 60:718–24. [RIMD]CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seyfarth, R. M. & Cheney, D. L. (1993) Grooming is not the only regulator of primate social interactions. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 16:717–18. [RIMD]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snowdon, C. T. (1993) The rest of the story: Grooming, group size and vocal exchanges in neotropical primates. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 16:718. [RIMD]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sperling, C. (1960) The information available in brief visual presentation. Psychological Monographs 74. [RLS]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tinbergen, N. (1963) On the aims and methods of ethology. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 20: 410–33. [RIMD]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tooby, J. & Cosmides, L. (1992) The psychological foundations of culture. In: The adapted mind, ed. Barkow, J., Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J.. Oxford University Press. [NST]Google Scholar
Whiten, A. (1993) What could the first linguistic utterance have been like? Current Anthropology 34:45–46. [NST]Google Scholar