Song, selection and language
- From: "arne97" <gahada2001@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2005 13:55:31 -0400 (EDT)
Recent posts address the connection of human song with language.
I believe that examination of this process will lead to an accurate
understanding of how we acquired our important human traits of
language, variable appearance, and our unusual cognitive abilities.
If one examines the behaviors of the mass of vertebrates, we find
that in most species the male courts the female with vocalizations (
"song" ) in order to induce her to mate. The female exercises choice of
the male based on her appreciation of his singing.
Vocal courtship occurs in fish, amphibians,reptiles, birds but NOT
in eutherians ( placental mammals). Eutherians are exceptional because
in most species the females have a behavior trait called "estrus" (
heat). ( Note that this is NOT the same as "estrous"; a word referring
to the entire fertility cycle.
During estrus, which occurs at ovulation, the female will seek-out
males and mate with any proximate male.
There are two standard mating patterns in most mammals. In chimps
( Pan t. ) which engage in a promiscuous behavior, the female mates
with every male in the band. In the gorilla, a dominant male keeps the
female confined during estrus so that she will be unavailable to other
males. Most eutherians use the 2nd method: the harem model.
The sex drive in the estrus female is intense. She will usually
stop feeding; neglect any young ; and even lose the caution which
protects her from predation ( Estrus field mice , for instance, are
more often taken by raptors than non-estrus females ).
The cat in heat or the estrus bitch are familiar to many. Unless
confined, they will mate with any male that is available. This
non-discrimination of females accounts for the ease with which the
human breeder can manipulate domestic mammals. In the wild, the lack of
discrimination by the female accounts for the "leveling" of species
across wide areas. A cottontail rabbit in Maine, USA is essentially
identical to one in Mexico.
This is to say that in species with estrus, the role of the
Female Choice form of Sexual Selection is substantially impaired.
This makes courtship by the male irrelevant. The male will be
able to have coitis with the female when she goes into heat, as long as
he can get to her. As Darwin noted, vocal courtship of eutherian
females, by males, is largely absent.
In modern parlance, a female in heat is a "sure thing".
I know of 3 species of eutherian in which estrus is NOT present :
humans, hylobates and tarsiers.
These 3 share certain behaviors and traits. In all, the use of
song is pronounced and important.
Gibbons begin each day with extended and complex duets containing
unique patterns of precise notes.
Tarsiers engage in group songs, usually at dusk. The use of
harmony is an important facet of these concerts.
Humans sing.
Next, all three eutherians are CAPABLE of pair-bonding. This does
NOT mean that no mating occurs outside the pair-bond. It merely means
that the species are able to form stable monogamous relationships of
one male with one female.
Lastly, all three creatures exhibit pronounced variation of
appearance. These "sub-species" of gibbon and tarsier are similar to
the ethnic and racial differences one sees in H.sapiens.
Estrus negates the use of song for courtship. Once a species
loses estrus, the innate behavior of ancestral vertebrates re-asserts
itself.
Females, lacking the desire to mate indiscriminately, are able
to choose a mate based on courtship methods including song.
Song is the precursor of language because vocalizations convey
complex information in an easily interpreted for.
Humans "think" in words. If I say "red sky" the image of a red sky
is drawn up into our consciousness. The words are packets of
information. Our conciousness picks and chooses from recalled words,
assembling them to form complex ideas.
Many species of birds use vocalizations in the same way.
Dr.Pepperberg's parrot, Alex, not only has a vocabulary exceeding 200
words but has syntax ; the verbal ability to identify novelty.
Crows, like most corvids, are vocal and intelligent. They use a
variety of calls to identify food, danger and even have personal names
and the ability to count.
None of these vocal traits would exist if nature had not first
given song such an important role in reproduction. Reproductive choices
are the engines of evolution, especially in Sexual Selection.
To understand the origin of language try to imagine our ancestral
"Eve". Born of an H.erectus mother but without the compulsive mating
urge of estrus, she was able to experience ovulation without engaging
in coitis.
Suppose we think of her as sitting near to an H.erectus male. He
knows she is ovulating because of olfactory clues. Yet she makes no
move to engage in coitis.
The male makes some sort of vocalization which pleases Eve. She
looks up.
Fortunately, he repeats the pleasing sound. Eve smiles.
At the instant, the train of behaviors which results in language
is begun.
There is more. Language is the key to a more efficient use of
our brains.
Also, estrus is induced hormonally but based on a peculiar
anatomical structure in the female eutherian. Humans, gibbons and
tarsiers lack this the configuration which allows estrus, hence we are
estrus-free.
I would urge anyone who finds this of interest to spend some
time trying to find a rational scientific explanation of estrus
behavior. Check with mammologists, biologists or veterinarians. I think
you will find that their explanations are logically inconsistent.
Best regards,
Arne
.
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